Under A Southern Sky
by faithangel3
Summary: Santana's family moves across the country, a move Santana is non to pleased with, at least not at first.
1. Chapter 1  Seeing Things

Title: Under A Southern Sky

Pairing: Santana/Brittany

Rating: PG-13/R

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the thoughts in my head.

Summary: Santana's family moves across the country, a move Santana is non to pleased with, at least not at first.

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**Under A Southern Sky **

Chapter 1 - Seeing Things (Aaron Lines)

This wasn't supposed to be the plan. The plan was to graduate, go to prom with her best friends and get into a great college. Moving the summer before senior year was definitely not the plan, it was way off course from the plan. It wasn't as though they were moving a few streets down, or into the next suburb, her parents had decided to pick up and move them to the other side of the country where tumbleweeds blew across the street and people talked in weird southern accents.

**One Month Later - Wilmington, North Carolina **

The first month had already gone by and it had been just as Santana figured it would. It was filled with cowboy boots and plaid shirts, country music and of course the weird southern accents. She had to admit the boys weren't too bad to look at but overall it was like prison to her. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, and her parents seemed to be loving it. Still she hadn't attempted to go out and make friends, she was hoping that if she moped around enough her parents would have to move her back to California.

"Santana can you come down here please." Her mother called up the large staircase. That was one thing that had surprised the Latina, the houses around here were huge, and not the farm houses she expected. Although there were some of those they were far and few between.

"Yes mother." She said as she walked down the stairs and forced herself to smile as she saw that they had company. She got to the bottom of the stairs before she spoke again. "Hi."

"Sweetie this is Karen and Gary Pierce, Gary works with your father."

"It's nice to meet you Santana your father speaks very highly of you." Gary said in his thick southern accent.

Santana smiled. "It's nice to meet you both as well." If there was one thing she was good at it was schmoozing.

"How come you aren't down at the party?" Karen asked, her blonde hair pulled back in a clip but still managing to look like she could be in a magazine somewhere.

"I didn't know there was a party to be honest."

Her mother frowned slightly. "She hasn't really been up to going out, she's not entirely impressed with the move."

Karen smiled at her. "That's understandable, but you should go down there, our daughter is down there, we all just got back into town but I'm you two will see a lot of each other."

"That sounds like a great idea Santana, Karen and Gary live across the street and you two are the same age."

"Oh, I don't know." Just as the words left her lips the door bell rang and her mother went to answer it.

"Did someone say party? I hear the guys here are quite cute." Santana whirled around at the sound of the voice and smiled when she saw blonde hair.

Running up to the girl she nearly knocked her to the ground as she hugged her. "Quinn! What are you doing here?" She asked her best friend.

"You're parents thought it would be a good idea to help transition you into the move. Now what's this I heard about a party?" She looked around at the faces she didn't know. "Sorry, I'm Quinn." She extended her hand as she introduced herself.

Karen Pierce nodded. "It's a lot of fun, or so I hear anyways, we haven't been allowed to go in a long time. The kids don't let us, we can't be embarrassing them." Santana's mother nodded as the adults all sat down with glasses of white wine.

"Let's go get changed." Quinn beams as she pulls Santana upstairs. "Plus I need to see your room!"

"Why do you always choose to dress like you're a grandma?" Santana asked as she pulled out of the driveway.

"Why are you always such a bitch?" Quinn spat back at her. "Sorry I have better taste than blue jeans and a white tank top."

Santana laughed. "I'm just trying to fit in with the people."

"Exactly so am I." The blonde said of her floral summer dress that cut off at the knees and cowboy boots.

The two girls sat in quiet as they let the sound of the radio tune out their thoughts. They followed the directions Gary Pierce had given them on how to get to this so called amazing party. All the while they were both wondering what the Pierce's daughter was going to look like.

"I've decided she's going to be ugly. I mean look at her parents, 9 times out of 10 good looking people don't have good looking offspring. It's the one time where two wrongs normally make a right."

Quinn shook her head at her best friend. "True, but you never know. From what I saw at the airport the boys around here a quite good looking."

"I hadn't really noticed." She gripped the steering wheel a little tighter knowing where this conversation was suddenly going.

"Speaking of, what's the deal with you and Puckerman?"

Santana shrugged. "We sort of broke up, sort of didn't. It was one of those if we're still single when I move back in a year then we'll see."

"So you're free to see other people?" The blonde watched as her best friend nodded. "This party is more like a fair." Quinn said as she looked out the window when the car came to a stop. "You really do live in the middle of nowhere and that's coming from me, I don't like the city."

It took her a minute but Santana finally pulled the keys out of the ignition and took a deep breathe. "Let's go mingle shall we."

She watched as her best friend smiled and got out of the car. This was definitely not what they were used to and she knew unlike herself her best friend was loving it.

They walked around for awhile, looking at the games and rides that were scattered amongst the open field. Quinn seemed to be enjoying it but Santana kept looking like she wanted to run back to her car and hide.

"Relax a little, you're trying so hard not to enjoy it, and we both know that if you relax you will."

"Excuse me ladies." Both girls turned around and came face to face with a blonde haired, blue eyed hunk.

Quinn grinned from ear to ear. "Hi there, I'm Quinn that's Santana." He took his cowboy hat off and shook both their hands. "Glad to see you're cute with the hat off too." Santana rolled her eyes, while she may be a flirt her best friend was on a whole different level.

"The new girl right?"

Santana nodded. "Yeah, that's me." She said somewhat sarcastically.

"It's nice to finally meet you. In all honesty I had a feeling ya might be which is why I came over here. This isn't really the party, this is more of the get together before the party."

Santana's ears perked up. "You're starting to talk my language cowboy, wait what's you name?"

"Sorry, Sam, Sam Evans." He smiled and Santana watched as Quinn's face beamed. "And I don't always wear the hat by the way but we take the real party to the beach house, that's where we're off to now if you want to come with us."

Before Quinn could say yes the Latina spoke up. "I drove, we'll follow you though anything to get away from this."

The boy laughed. "Not liking the small town life?"

"About as much as a someone with a peanut allergy likes peanuts."

Twenty minutes later Santana parked her car behind Sam's truck. "Come on in." He said as the two girls followed him up the porch steps. The house was nice, two stories with light blue paint that fit it perfectly without being too cheesy.

"You ladies want a beer or anything?"

The two best friends shared a look. "One wouldn't hurt." Quinn said as they followed him into the kitchen where there was a large crowd of people standing. This was definitely where the party was, Santana concluded as they squeezed through everyone. Opening the fridge Sam pulled out two Bud Light Limes.

"Hope you ladies don't mind this stuff, all that's left."

"I'm fine, driving remember."

Quinn gave her a look. "If anything we can take a cab home, and tell your mom that the car got blocked in or something."

"You just want to play beer pong. You guys do play beer pong here right?" Her question caused Sam to laugh and nod his head.

"Come on, we'll get you in on the next game." He said as he handed her the beer.

"Guess you weren't kidding when you said you were the beer pong champ back home." Sam said as he finished the last of the beer in his cup.

Quinn smiled. "She rarely loses." Santana smirked and something caught her in the back window.

Sam turned around in order to look and see what Santana's gaze was fixated on. "Want to go make smores?"

Quinn nodded and wrapped her arm Sam's. "Come on Santana you know you love them."

They made their way out the back door as a few of the guys gave Santana a high five for beating Sam. She didn't really care to look at any of them, her plan was simple, finish the year then move back to California.

That's when she saw her, standing on the other side of the fire, dancing slightly to the music, laughing. She wore a simple plaid dress with a brown leather belt loosely around her waist, hair pulled back messily into a clip. She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there staring at the girl before she finally felt Quinn nudge her. The girl was making her way towards them.

"Hi, I'm Brittany." She smiled.

"Quinn, nice to meet you." All eyes were on Santana but the girl was too tongue tied to speak. "And this is Santana." Quinn nudged her again.

"Oh sorry, hi." She couldn't help but stare at the girl, he skin glistening in the evening sun, it was the perfect look and those eyes, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to look away.

"This is Brittany's place." Sam said to fill the silence.

Santana felt herself start to smile like a fool. "You have really nice eyes, I mean house, you have a really lovely house."

Quinn rolled her eyes and Brittany let out a soft chuckle. "You're cute, glad I'm going to have a cute neighbour."

"Excuse me, neighbour?" Santana asked making sure she heard right.

Brittany nodded. "Yeah I live across the street, my mom texted and said you might be stopping by."

"Guess you were wrong." Quinn stated as she looked back and forth between Santana and Brittany.

"About?"

Before Quinn could speak again Brittany looked into the house. "Ugh! I'm sorry I'll be right back." They all looked into the house and saw a few of the guys throwing around a flower pot.

"Why is it always the flower pot?" Quinn asked, causing Sam to shrug.

"I should go help her, I'll be right back."

Santana felt Quinn nudge her once again. "What is with the nudging?"

"What's with the staring." The two girls walked towards a railing that led down to a dock.

"Tell me I'm seeing things and that my neighbour is not that attractive."

The blonde shook her head. "No she definitely is. Should I get you a cold bottle of water to help you cool down?"

Santana went to say no when she saw the blonde thru the window start to dance. "Maybe a strong cup of coffee too."

Shaking her head at her best friend Quinn took Santana by the hand and dragged her back inside. "Come on let's get our dance on, show these country kids how it's done."

The music was definitely louder than when they had walked outside five minutes earlier. The living room was filled with people dance but that didn't stop the two city girls from going right up to Brittany and Sam. Without thinking twice Brittany took Santana's hands in hers and spun her around and for the first time in over a month the girl felt a genuine smile appear on her lips.

Three hours later Santana was sitting next to Quinn on the couch when she spoke. "I definitely can not drive home."

"Me either. You guys really do know how to party."

Sam smiled and took another sip of his beer when Brittany walked back into the room. By now most of the guests had either left or were passed out in various places around the house. "Don't worry I called your mom, well my mom but they were still at your place and told her you were staying here."

Santana looked up and smiled at Brittany, the girl was drop dead gorgeous and she couldn't help but admire her beauty. "Thanks that was really nice of you."

"No problem." Santana followed the girls gaze and saw Quinn making out with Sam. "I'm going to go for a walk, want to come?"

Taking one more look at her best friend Santana nodded before getting up. She followed her new neighbour out the back door and down the dock at the back of the house. The blonde took a seat at the end of the dock and let her long legs dangle off the edge, just barely missing the water.

"You can sit, I won't bite, at least not hard." The brunette smiled and sat down. "Everything okay?"

"Mhmm, just a little dizzy from all the drinks." She smiled, the alcohol definitely taking its toll on her.

Brittany let out a small laugh before wrapping her arm lightly around her shoulder. "You'll get used to it, we tend to party pretty hard."

"I'd say but I'm glad I came out tonight."

"Yeah, me too. So tell me something about you."

Santana could feel the girls eyes on her, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. "I'm a cheerleader."

"Really?" She looked over at the blonde who was smiling really big now, she nodded in response. "Cool, me too."

They spent the next hour talking about cheerleading and the competitions they had been too before the figured they should head in and get some rest. As they passed the couch they had left their respective best friends on they realised the two were fast asleep.

"Come on, you can have my bed." Brittany said as she led her up the stairs.

"No, I couldn't I'm fine with the floor."

The blonde laughed again as she opened her bedroom door. "I'll get you something to sleep in, and you're not sleeping on the floor. I can pass out anywhere and the floor is actually pretty comfy for me. You're the guest, you get the bed."

"We can share it? I mean I know we just met and all but I can't take your bed from you completely."

"Are you sure?" Santana nodded as Brittany handed her a pair of shorts and over sized t-shirt.

"These okay?" The Latina nodded again. "The bathroom is right over there." She pointed to a door on the other side of the room.

A few minutes later when she came out of the bathroom she noticed that Brittany had already changed and gotten into her bed. Santana couldn't help but smile as she look at the blonde curled up under the covers, a small teddy bear under her arm. Maybe, and it was a big maybe, this place wouldn't be so bad after all. Climbing into the other side of the bed Santana reached over and turned off the light before sleep took over.

A/N: I'm real big on using music when I write to keep me focused and what I want to do with this story is use a bunch of different songs, they won't all be country songs but I do love country music so a lot of them probably will be. Its not going to be exactly like a big long song fic but more the event in every chapter or some of the inspiration behind it. So if any of you have a favourite song that reminds you of Brittana please let me know and I'll try and use it for one of the chapters. And any time you think of one just let me know. I wrote a fic like this for Malex awhile ago but I couldn't stop myself from writing it for Brittana because of my current obsession so I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and that it wasn't too long. Cheers.


	2. Chapter 2  Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, they mean the world to me. Hope you guys like the next chapter, please feel free to suggest some songs, I can't promise anything but if it feels I'll do my best to use them J

Chapter 2 - Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not

A week had passed since the party at the beach house. Santana and Quinn had settled into their regular routine of, tanning, swimming, tanning, eating, working out, tanning and people watching while they tanned.

"How about we lay out front with some drinks, and see what goes on out there?" Quinn asked from her spot on the couch.

Santana shrugged. "Works for me, I'll get the music and oil meet you out front with the chairs?" She watched as her best friend nodded and went upstairs to grab the tanning oil, her ipod and it's docking station. On her way out she grabbed a couple towels and was met with a worn out best friend when she got outside. "Working hard?" The blonde shot her a look. "Whatever, here." She handed the a towel before spreading her own out over her chair.

An hour later as Santana laid on her stomach, Quinn on her back the Latina heard her best friend tell her to look. Turning onto her back and resting her sunglasses on her forward Santana couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. "Definitely a good idea to lay out front today." She said continuing to stare at the long legged blonde running up the street clad in short shorts and a sports bra.

"You've got it bad."

She looked over at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "I do not, I don't even know her." She snapped back, her full bitch attitude coming out to play.

"I know that look Santana, that's the I want to jump her bones look. Speaking of, we never did discuss you two sleeping in the same bed."

She rolled her eyes. "There's nothing to talk about, unlike you and trouty mouth who made out all night."

"I'm single I'm allowed to play." Quinn smiled as she watched the darker haired girl continue to look at her neighbour.

"So am I."

Quinn laughed. "I knew it! Okay but seriously details. You know I'm not that into that but she is way hot."

Santana smiled as she replied that nights events in her mind. "Nothing happened, we just slept. I was more drunk than I care to admit, it was surprisingly comfortable since she was a stranger."

"Really? That's all that happened, you slept? Since when does Santana Lopez just sleep, isn't more like sleep with?" The blonde felt the towel hit her bare leg. "Ow!"

"We slept, and talked, I could have talked to her all night, she's a cheerleader you know?"

Quinn smiled. "You've mentioned that a time or two. Oh look she's look at us."

Looking up Santana grinned as Brittany waved to them causing both girls to wave back. "She is so beautiful." She felt the other girl looking at her. "What?"

"Did you just say beautiful?"

Thinking for a moment she nodded. "Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, I'm going back to my magazine now." Sure enough Quinn went back to reading her magazine but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the blonde standing across the street, stretching on her driveway.

Finally she decided leering wasn't appropriate since she barely knew the girl and the last thing she wanted was to creep her out. She leaned her head back down and sat her sunglasses back on the bridge of her nose.

"Hey Brittany!" She heard Quinn yell, the blonde across the street looked up and started to walk across the street.

"What the hell are you doing Fabray?" Santana mumbled as she smiled once the blonde got closer.

"Hi ladies." She smiled a toothy grin and Santana couldn't help but be tongue tied once again.

Quinn looked between her best friend and the other blonde. "Did you want to join us? We're just tanning and people watching, well sort of people watching, since there aren't many people around."

The taller girl smiled and shook her head. "I wish I could but I have to go get ready, I'm meeting some friends for lunch. Ya'll are welcome to join." She looked directly at Santana.

"No we wouldn't want to impose, maybe next time though." Santana answered, surprised that the words didn't come out as a whisper. She could have sworn she noticed the blondes expression drop slightly. "It's just that my parents are having this party thing tonight and we have to help get everything ready."

"Oh yeah, my parents mentioned that, I'll be sure to stop by."

"You definitely should, the Lopez parties are always entertaining." Quinn said as she threw a smile over at her friend, one that said you owe me for calling the girl you're crushing on over here.

"Sounds good, but I need to get ready, ya'll enjoy layin' out and I'll see you later on."

Santana nodded. "Looking forward to it." She grinned as she watched the girl walk back across the road and into her house. "Ugh, my game is so not working out here in the middle of nowhere."

"It's North Carolina, not the artic."

"I mean how cute is she when she says ya'll?" Quinn laughed and went back to reading her magazine. Whether her best friend knew it or not she had a feeling that the girl was going to love this place. It had been a long time since she saw the girl smile the way she did when the other blonde was around, and she could only hope that once the girl got comfortable in her new surroundings that she'd open up and start to enjoy it.

Later that night Santana found herself wandering around her new house that didn't feel like hers at all. Brittany hadn't shown up yet and she was pretty sure no one cool was going too. Aside from Sam but he only showed up because he wanted to get back his mack on with Quinn.

It wasn't that the people were rude or unpleasant. In all actuality they were accommodating and nice. Her parents seemed to be loving it, especially because they had more friends here than she did. Still her plan was simple, survive the summer and school year, then head back to California. That was a plan that wasn't about to change so making friends seemed quiet pointless. Getting close to anyone seemed pointless yet she still couldn't help herself when it came to wanting to get to know the blonde across the street.

For right now she needed to escape the crowd, the small talk and most of all she just wanted to be alone. She made her way upstairs to the attic where she slipped off her high heels before climbing out the small window, making her way onto the roof. Sitting down she brought her knees to her chest and looked out at the moon. It was the one thing that never changed no matter where you were, the moon was always there.

She could hear the buzz of music and talking from her backyard but none of it really mattered. She didn't care about the music and she certainly didn't care about any of the conversations that were taking place below her. Quinn was leaving in two days and then she was out here by herself in a world that was really different from the one she had grown up in. She was used to people doing anything they could to get ahead, to better themselves, out here it seemed to be the opposite. Everyone was out to help everyone else, sure not everyone liked each other but for the most part people were incredibly welcoming and helpful.

Still, she didn't want to be here, this wasn't her world, this wasn't how her life was supposed to turn out. Her friends were 3000 miles across the country and so was her life.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She was startled when she heard the voice from behind her and as she turned to look around at where it came from she watched the girl sit down next to her. "Sorry I'm late, I had motocross practise."

"Why are you apologizing?"

Brittany smiled. "The polite thing to do? Plus I said I would be here, I can't imagine moving out here from a big city it must be hard."

"Yeah, that's an understatement."

The girl continued to smile as she got comfortable on the roof. "Sorry for interrupting you're alone time, I can leave if you want." Brittany realised she hadn't been asked to sit down and didn't want to invade the girls space.

"It's fine."

The blonde studied Santana for a few minutes. "You're not much of a talker are you? Minus the drinks anyways."

They both laughed slightly. "I can be, ask Quinn, it's hard for her to get me to shut up sometimes."

"You have such a cute laugh." Brittany said quietly but loud enough that Santana knew she was meant to hear her.

"Thanks." Was Brittany really flirting with her? Or was she just being friendly? Santana wasn't sure which it was but she knew either way that she liked it. "Wait, what brings you up here?"

"Good question, I saw you from my place. My best friend used to live here until they moved so I know my way around the house pretty well."

Santana couldn't help but feel sad. "I'm sorry, are you guys still close?."

Brittany shrugged. "It's been awhile now, yeah when I get to see her. She lives in New York now, living out her dream to be a broadway star." They stayed silent for awhile longer, neither knowing exactly what to say but glad that the silence wasn't at all awkward. "What brings you up here? You don't have to tell me if you don't want too though."

Normally Santana wasn't one to talk about her feelings but something about Brittany made her feel comfortable. "Quinn leaving, having to deal with this place on my own. Don't get me wrong I am as independent as they come but it's still," she paused looking for the right word, "a transition."

Nodding, Brittany seemed to understand exactly what Santana was trying to say. "If you need anything, I know we barely know each other but I'm right across the street. I make some great sweet tea."

"Sounds lovely, thank you." She watched as the other girl snickered a little. "What?"

"Nothing, except who says that sounds lovely." The girl half mocked her and Santana couldn't help but laugh. If it was anyone else she probably would have pushed them off the roof but with Brittany it was different and she didn't know why.

They went back to sitting in silence. They were still pretty much strangers but they fell into an easy space, neither feeling as though they had to talk and keep up a conversation. Laying back Brittany pulled Santana with her. "I'm cold so you need to keep me warm." Sure it may have been forward but the way Brittany had said it was adorable. They laid close to each other for awhile, shoulders brushing against each other until Santana spoke.

"The moon."

"What about it?" Santana sat up and continued to gaze at the large white object in the sky.

"I came up here to look at the moon, to really look at it. The moon is always there, everywhere in the world at some point in the day everyone will see the same moon. It makes me feel better about the little things, don't sweat the small stuff."

Brittany sat up but left her legs flat out in front of herself. "Miss everyone back home?" Santana nodded. "I hope with time it gets easier."

"No offence, I don't plan on being here that long. Once school is done I am definitely moving back to Cali."

The other girls face dropped slightly and the Latina wasn't sure if it was just her eyes playing tricks on her. "What will I do without then?" Santana felt the butterflies roar in her stomach and she wasn't entirely sure where they came from. "I don't know what it is but I like you Santana Lopez and I can't wait to get to know you, if that's okay with you."

"I might agree to that, I'll let you know." She managed to get out a wink and the smile that formed on Brittany's lips made her heart flutter. Maybe Quinn was right and she really wasn't giving this place a fair chance.

After that the two girls talked about everything from cheerleading to dancing, school, family and everything in between. The smiles on their faces probably could have been seen from the moon, neither girl realising that most of the party guests had left, the rest leaving at a somewhat steady pace. They didn't hear the music stop playing or the little kids running around in the backyard. All track of time was lost, as far as they were concerned they could have been sitting out there for five minutes. It wasn't until Santana started to shiver a little that Brittany realised that it had gotten really late. She reached over and softly rubbed the other girls arm to try and help her warm up a little, a sincere smile playing on her lips.

Santana turned and their glances caught, neither could take their eyes off the other. Whether it was the fresh air, the southern charm, tiredness, or all three, all she knew was that she couldn't take her eyes off of her neighbour. Looking down at the girls lips she watched as she bit the corner of her mouth. Santana made a mental note of how cute it was and suddenly thoughts of Puck and missing him were no one in the vicinity of her memory. They were stuck like that for awhile, not sure of what to do or how to approach it. Slowly they inched closer, still keeping a safe distance between them though. Finally Santana couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you gonna kiss me or not?" She whispered softly, a small smile on her lips.

Brittany thought about it for a few moments before shaking her head. "No." She smiled to show that she was being a tease. Her answer causing Santana to lean back away from her, finally breaking the stare down. "You need to work a little harder for that." Yep, this girl was definitely a flirt.

"Then I guess I should walk you home and go find Quinn."

"You guys almost kissed? Are you sure? How many drinks did you sneak tonight?" Quinn asked from her spot on the bed.

"Yes, yes and none." She leaned back against her headboard, hugging the pillow to her chest, looking out the window. "I really don't know why didn't kiss me, why wouldn't she kiss me."

Quinn laughed. "Maybe she's not into that."

"She was definitely into it, you should have seen her, I was sure she was going to."

Shaking her head the blonde huffed. "How much do you even know about her? She could already be in a relationship."

"She never mentioned anything, and that's not the vibe I was getting. You don't get that vibe from someone that was in a relationship, all I'm saying."

"Whatever, you're totally into her and she's got a boyfriend or girlfriend. Sucks to be you." Quinn threw a pillow at her best friend, hitting her in the face.

"I'm going to bed because you're raining on my parade."

Quinn stood up from the bed and hugged her best friend. "At least you have one friend here now, it's a start."

"Go to bed ass clown." Santana shot at her as she was the blonde leave the room. She really hoped that the girl wasn't right about Brittany having a boyfriend. So naturally she did the first thing that came to mind and pulled her lap top onto her bed. Signing onto her face book, she realised she hadn't really been on since the move. It was hard for her to do even though it was just a stupid internet site but after ten minutes she changed her current city. Another couple minutes later and she finally found Brittany's profile, the girl was certainly photogenic and Santana couldn't help but smile as she looked at the picture of her neighbour laughing with some friends at the beach.

For the most part the girls profile was set to private but she could see the girls birthday, where she lived and her last status update.

_Brittany S. Pierce_

"_We were sitting up there on your momma's roof, talking 'bout everything under the moon. With the smell of honey suckle and your perfume…you were so shy and so was I, maybe that's why it was so hard to believe when you said are you gonna kiss me or not?"_

**About an hour ago. **


	3. Chapter 3  Dirt Road Anthem

Chapter 3 - Dirt Road Anthem

Quinn had left and instead of going out and meeting knew people Santana decided to stay in, moping. She also hadn't seen Brittany since that night on the roof which was now almost two weeks ago. Even though she knew that the Pierce's had gone to Florida on vacation she couldn't help but wonder where the two girls now stood. Quinn told her to let things happen, take everything day by day and not over think anything. Mind you, she also told her to go out and make friends, but she was content to lay by the pool all day.

Her parents had left for the weekend to celebrate their 20th anniversary, leaving Santana with the house to herself and no friends to throw a party for. If she wasn't already feeling depressed she most certainly was now. Being as bored as she was she decided to grab the book she'd been reading off her desk and head to the small sitting room upstairs to enjoy the book. If anyone found out she was an avid reader she'd deny to the fullest but she had to admit that she had always found comfort in getting lost in a world that wasn't her own.

After a half hour of reading she was still bored, it was the middle of the day and she had far to much energy to be sitting inside on a beautiful day. _Shopping. _She thought to herself as she stood up, placed the book on the chair. Walking downstairs she grabbed her keys off the foyer table along with her purse. Retail therapy would definitely make her feel better, some really cute dresses, heels to match. Sounded like the perfect plan to her.

_So much for a perfect plan. _Getting out of her black Shelby Mustang she slammed the door closed before opening the hood. A cloud of smoke emerged and she couldn't help but cough a little. "Great, now what the hell am I supposed to do, they probably don't even have tow trucks in this damn town. You would salvage some of these cars that they drive." She huffed to herself as she called the operator and got the number for a tow truck.

Over an hour later Santana was still sitting in her car, waiting. As she looked around she had to admit that while she still didn't like her new living arrangements the place was beautiful. Large trees and flowers were planted all over and there was something different about the sky but she didn't want to dwell on that. She heard a truck come to a stop just in front of where she had the car pulled over onto the side of the road. Taking a deep breathe, ready to give the driver a tongue lashing for being so late she was brought out of her revere when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Santana, everything alright?"

Looking up she came face to face with blue eyes. "Not really something is wrong with the car and the tow truck driver was supposed to be here an hour ago." She stood up from the drivers seat and smiled at Brittany. "How are you?"

"My day just got better." She smiled. "Good song by the way."

Santana would have been lying if she wasn't being naïve but she couldn't help it. "You listen to hip hop and rnb?"

The blonde let out a hearty laugh. "This isn't the artic, I don't just listen to country music."

The Latina watched as her neighbour leaned under the hood of her car. It was hot out and she could see a few beads of sweat forming on the girls forehead. When she looked back up and smiled at her, Santana's breathe got caught in her chest. There was something incredibly sexy about Brittany getting dirty, trying to fix her car.

"One sec." She wiped her hands on her dark blue jean shorts, a few specs of grease remained on her hand. Sure enough a minute later Brittany was back after retrieving something from her truck.

Santana watched as the girl opened the bottle of water, thinking she was thirsty, but instead she watched the girl use a cloth to take the cap off something. She proceeded to pour the entire contents of the bottle into the tube. "You over heated, just needed some water, did you just get an oil change?" Santana nodded. "The smoke was from that too, burning off the excess. Next time just bring it over to my place, my dad and I can do that for you for next to nothing."

"Next to nothing meaning what?" While she hadn't showed it recently, Brittany wasn't the only one of them that could flirt and Santana was started to feel more and more confident.

"Meaning, the price of getting to see you."

Yep, the girl was good. "That can be arranged." She winked as Brittany closed the hood. "Looks like you're my knight in shining armour today, glad you're back from that trip or I would still be waiting." She paused. "Can I take you out for dinner or something, repay you?"

The blonde laughed. "Well since you want to repay me, there's this get together tonight, I'd love for you to come."

"That can be arranged."

The girl smiled from ear to ear. "Awesome, I'll pick you up around 9?"

"Sounds good to me and thanks again, definitely my life saver."

"Only if I can be the red ones, they're the only ones I like."

It was Santana's turn to smile from ear to ear. "Lucky for you red is my favourite colour." She watched as the girl continued to smile, she liked knowing that she could make the girl grin although she felt like most people could. Brittany was friendly and it seemed as though she was also smiling but still in this moment it was because of her and she felt good about it.

"Then I guess it is my lucky day. See you at 9?"

"See you at 9." The other girl walked back to her truck waving out her window. Santana watched for a minute but the girl didn't drive a way. She was waiting to see if the car would start she realised, so she turned the key. Sure enough the engine roared, Brittany was definitely her hero today.

Pulling beside the girls truck she turned the radio down. "Thanks again for being my hero today, I'll definitely have to repay the favour."

"I look forward to it, just remember when its broke 'round here we fix it." She winked causing the girl in the convertible to laugh.

Ever since their almost kiss, if you could call it that Santana was nervous to be around Brittany. The girl was everything that Puck wasn't and while she wasn't into labelling herself she easily labelled that she liked Brittany. It was rare that she ever liked someone based on anything but their looks but in this case Brittany was more than a pretty face. Even barely knowing her, she knew that the blonde was something special and she was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason.

By the time 9 o'clock rolled around Santana was anxiously waiting by the door. Wondering to herself why she hadn't just told the blonde girl she'd walk across the street and meet her. She summed it up to fantasizing that this was some sort of date. Which she knew was entirely untrue but it never hurt to dream. Besides it kept her mind off thinking about her current living situation.

Looking down at her watch she watched as the screen showed that it was 9 p.m. on the dot with no sign of her neighbour.

_Ding. _She heard the doorbell sound, instantly leaving her with a smile on her face. Opening the door she grinned a little bigger at the sight of Brittany in nothing more than blue jeans and an Abercrombie t-shirt that hung off her body perfectly. "Hi."

"Hey, ready to go?" She nodded as she walked out and closed the door behind her, turning around briefly to lock it. They walked towards the girls truck. "Hop on in." Brittany opened the door for her before going around to the drivers side.

Fifteen minutes into their drive Santana couldn't help but wonder where exactly they were headed. "You're not taking me out to kill me are you?" She said looking around and watching the already somewhat rural city turn into nothing more than dirt roads.

"I couldn't kill you, if I did I wouldn't have the worlds prettiest neighbour living across the street."

"Always so smooth."

"You look great by the way, but you may get a little cold." Brittany briefly scanned over Santana's floral patterned sundress.

"That's why I've got you around, not just as arm candy." She watched as Brittany laughed.

"True, but I'm the hottest arm candy around, so I hope you have a sweet tooth." She turned off onto another dirt road except this one didn't have street lights. "It's just something we like to do to sometimes, keep up with stereotypes."

"Which means?" Santana trailed off.

"Which means we sit around the bon fire, hang out and drink beer."

The darker haired girls eyes widened. "You aren't going to make me do some sort of initiation jig or ho down are you?"

The truck finally came to a stop causing Santana to look out the window. Off in the distance she could see a small light which she assumed was the fire. Feeling Brittany's eyes on her she turned her attention back around. "No jigs or ho downs, not even any line dancing tonight." The girl got out of the truck, walked around to the other side and opened the door her once again, southern charm. "Although come to think of it Mike may start busting out into some dance moves but he's more of the hip hop, no bones type."

"Good to know."

They walked towards the fire and immediately Brittany laid the blanket down. "Britts here with the newbie." All eyes landed on Brittany and Santana.

"Hey ya'll this is Santana, Santana this is everyone." They all waved, she had met most of them that night at Brittany's party.

"Hope you we don't scare you away." A girl said from the chair next to where Brittany had laid down the blanket.

Santana smiled, she was pretty sure the girl's name was Mercedes and she wouldn't be surprised if she was the only black girl in the whole town. Scratch that, she knew it wasn't true but it was still fun to think. "That won't be too easy, nice to see you again."

"Same to you, beer?" She asked holding up a beer to both girls.

Brittany shook her head. "No thanks, driving."

"Santana?" Mercedes smiled a devious smile and Santana knew she was going to like this girl.

"I'm game, if you don't mind that is." She looked over at Brittany she didn't want the girl to be the only one not driving.

"Go for it."

Two hours later Sam had his guitar out and was singing some country song that Santana didn't know. "Come on Sammy, play something Santana will know, and frankly I'm tired of the country. We're sitting out in a field, drinking near a bon fire, we aren't getting any less country."

Brittany laughed as she high-fived Mercedes. "Yeah do the medley!"

Taking that as his cue Sam started to strum something a little more familiar to Santana's ears. Just when Santana thought he was going to start singing he surprised her by starting to beat box. _Must be them guppy lips. _She thought since he didn't sound half bad. "We going downtown baby…" Sam trailed off as they all started to rap, without being able to help it Santana started rapping with them.

The beer that she had must have been wearing off because she was suddenly cold. She hugged her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, trying to stay warm. Surprisingly she was having a good time, it wasn't her normal scene but she figured that's why she was liking it. It was fresh, new, and actually exciting.

"You ready to head back?" She shook her head no. "Well then, how about we put the tailgate down and do some star gazing?" This time Brittany received a nod.

"I'd like that."

Good to her word, Brittany walked them thru the dark back to where she had parked her truck. She pulled the tailgate down and watched as Santana easily got up onto it. The girl might not be from the country but she sure as hell didn't need any help getting around. "You city girls are always so feisty."

"Oh, so you do this often?" The Latina joked as Brittany climbed up next to her.

"Only with the pretty ones." She wrapped the blanket they had been sitting on around the smaller girl when she noticed her shiver. "Come here, let's get you warmed up." Wrapping her arms around the girl they laid back and looked up at the night sky.

"It's beautiful out here." Santana said as she looked up to a star covered sky, the countryside had its perks.

"Yeah, it is." Brittany said as she looked at Santana instead of the stars above. "Let's hope they don't all burn out soon and leave."

Brittany walked Santana to her front door, both smiling at each other. "Do you want to come in? No parents, so the house is super quiet and kind of creepy."

"It's getting pretty late, I'd probably fall asleep on you."

"That's okay, we can just put on a movie or something, get our cuddle on." She winked causing Brittany to nod and laugh.

"Let me just go home and change into something more comfortable and I'll be right back."

The girl turned to leave but Santana caught her wrist. "You can borrow something of mine, you'll go home to change and fall asleep.

Later that night Santana woke up to find herself laying in bed, her arm wrapped around Brittany who was laying on her stomach, one arm sprawled across Santana's stomach. _She must have carried me to bed, the last thing I remember is hoping the stupid werewolf would just eat Bella already._ She figured she probably should have moved, untangled her and Brittany's limbs but she couldn't. It wasn't because she was too tired but just that it felt nice to be in someone's arms. Especially when that person smell good, really good. Leaning down she placed a soft kiss on Brittany's forehead before bringing the blanket up around them a little higher. The contact made the blonde stir but instead of waking up a muffled "mmm" left her lips.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews, they are definitely making me want to write this faster and it means so much that you guys took the time to give me some feedback. The song is by Brantley Gilbert, but you can give the Jason Aldean version a listen to as well. Personally I'm a little more inclined to Brantley but that's just me. The rap medley mentioned is by foreverdown and is called rap medley if anyone is interested in that. Also I was bored one night and made a little banner for the story. Not my best work but I think its still alright. If you want to give it a look you can find it on my livejournal. .com/


	4. Chapter 4  Party Rock Anthem

_Chapter 4 - Party Rock Anthem _

_Her parents had returned from their mini vacation to find her lounging by the pool with a book. The frown that creased her mothers face told her that her mother was hoping that she'd come out of her shell and start to get used to her surroundings. _

"_I went to a party, and it was fun, doesn't that count for something?" _

_Her mother rubbed her temples. "Santana you need to go out more than just once, we aren't leaving here. I understand that it's a big change at a hard time in your life but if you open up and let it in, it could turn out to be for the best." _

"_I just want to go home." _

"_This is home now but you're father and I have been talking. If by Christmas break you still are this unhappy we'll send you back to California, you're uncle said you could stay with them." _

_Santana's eyes lit up. "Really?" Her mother nodded. "This is great, I have to go call Quinn, thanks momma." _

"_You have to make me a promise though." Santana nodded. "That you will at least try and make it work here, that's the condition, you can't just lock yourself away in your room and mope." The girl understood but she was also pretty sure that nothing could change her wanting to get out of North Carolina. _

_Santana laid down on her bed, phone pressed tightly to her ear as she listened to her best friend. "Your mom is right Santana, as much I love you and loving you means embracing the bitch you need to have fun. Regardless you're there for 6 months, why not try to enjoy them, if anything at least start doing something you love. Go take a couple classes, release some of the tension, who knows maybe you'll find a hottie in class, oh wait you already found a hottie." The girl on the other end of the line laughed as Santana rolled her eyes. "If you tried to spend more time with everyone else maybe she'd talk to you a little more, from what Sam says Brittany is a busy bee." _

"_Thanks tips, I'll keep that in mind." Santana said in a tone harsher than she had intended. _

"_What are you doing tonight?" No response. "Top drawer of your desk is the address of the studio I found from what I remember there is a class tonight, go to it. Meet people and if you don't go, don't call me moping." With that Quinn hung up the phone leaving Santana to wonder if she really should take a class tonight. _

_After spending the next few hours contemplating what both her mother and best friend had told her, Santana decided that taking a class wouldn't hurt, even if she didn't like it. Ever since the move she had been so incredibly tense, well the move and not having Puck around for a late night booty call. _

_It was an hour before class started and she was still laying in her bed, the piece of paper Quinn left beside her. It was clear the blonde had taken the time to do her research on class times and styles. The only problem was that she was lounging around in sweats and it wasn't like her to go out anywhere unless she had at least jeans on._

"_Fuck it." Stood up from her bed. Walking over to her dresser she changed into a black sports bra and grey t-shirt that hung perfectly without being overly baggy. Grabbing her oversized bag she threw in her shoes, a towel and some water before grabbing her car keys. _

_Once at the studio she had to admit that it was quite nice and bigger than she had expected it to be. Walking in the place was somewhat empty though music could be heard coming from the room upstairs. She wasn't entirely sure what the norm was, whether she could just go upstairs or if she had to check in and pay. Lucky for her a familiar face walked thru the door right after her. _

"_Santana?" _

_She turned around and smiled. "Hey girl." _

_Mercedes smiled. "You a dancer?" _

"_I try, you?" _

"_Girl this booty can bring the house down, and I'm sure yours can too." Yep, she was definitely going to get along with this girl. "Come on, I'll check us in." _

"_We don't have to pay?" _

"_Pay before you leave, at least for us anyways." Mercedes noticed the girls raised expression. "You'll find out why soon enough." _

"_Why is the teacher not so good?" Mercedes let out a laugh for a small town there was a lot to learn considering she figured it'd all just be an open book. "Door on the left, just let yourself in if you want to watch or you can hang out in the empty room, I'll be right back." _

_Nodding Santana contemplated going into the empty room and having a good stretch but couldn't help but want to see what was going on in the room that the music was coming from. Quietly opening the door she moved in before taking a seat off to the side close to where a few other people were sitting. _

_Without looking around, she took off her sandals, stretching before she put on her Nike high tops. When the music started again Santana looked up and was shocked at the sight in front of her. Brittany. _

_Brittany and two guys stood in front of the window counting in. Santana couldn't help but think about how gorgeous the good looked with her hair pulled back in a mess and sweat pants. Then she started to really watch the girl move and she was completely blown away. So not only is she beautiful, girl is on point. _Finally she realised that she had been leering when she looked and saw Mercedes sitting next to her.

"Girl is great right?" She nodded her head, still continuing to look at the blonde. "Guess you'll be paying tonight then."

Santana's eyes went wide. "You're kidding, she's the instructor." Mercedes smiled and patted the girls outstretched leg.

"Yep and you will be hurting in the morning, so worth it though." A phone beeped causing Mercedes to scrounge thru her bag to find it. "I'll be back Tina is downstairs to drop something off for me." Santana was pretty sure she nodded, still unable to tear her eyes off Brittany. It was times like these she needed Puck around for a booty call. Instead of torturing herself further she grabbed her stuff and went to head into the room. As she stood and looked at the performance going on in front of her she couldn't help but be amazed not only by the girls beauty in sweats but her talent. Sure she had seen the girl out on her jogs but something about the baggy black sweat pants, loose fitting white v-neck t-shirt and messy hair had her eyes glued to the girl.

A few moments later she heard someone move into the room next to her. "Come on, you can gawk as she's teaching us, she gets really in the zone when she dances anyways." She followed Mercedes out of the room and into the room adjacent to the one they exited.

"Have you guys been friends for long?"

Mercedes dropped her bag on the ground. "Britt and I?" Santana nodded, following suit and dropping her bag and she sat down and started to stretch. "For awhile, but Britt is one of those girls that's friends with everybody, you won't hear many people say bad things about her."

"Yeah, I got that vibe."

"How about you, missing home?"

Both girls continued to stretch and more bodies moved into the room. "Yeah, a lot especially with Quinn being gone, I'm not sure if you guys met or not." Mercedes nodded her head.

"Did you leave someone else behind, a boy maybe?"

She shrugged. "Not really, I mean there was someone but it wasn't like we were going to get married."

"Girl you need to get out more." Santana put her high tops on. "I'm serious, I know it's not your normal thing, I can't speak for anyone else but you seem cool to me. It's nice not being the only flavour in this town." Mercedes nudged Santana with her shoulder slightly making the girl smile.

"Okay, okay, I'll start to get out more."

Mercedes smiled. "Good, now give me the deets on you and miss dancing pants. Don't tell me it's nothing because I saw you gawking."

"I wasn't gawking, and I always be keeping' it real. Seriously girl can move, ain't never seen a white girl be that on point."

The shorter girl nodded as she stretched. "Yeah Britt has always been in a world of her own, we're pretty sure aliens dropped her off from some far away planet."

"My probing incident isn't funny." Both girls whipped their head around to see Brittany walk into the room and drop her back down. It was then that they realised the room had filled up while they had been talking. The blonde looked pretty serious and Santana was about to apologize when she saw the girls lips crease upwards into a smile. "Just kidding." She smiled at Santana. "I didn't know you owned anything but jeans, skirts and dresses Lopez."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Santana couldn't help but smile.

"We'll have to change that sometime, but for now, I'm going to put your body thru when heck of a work out."

Santana was a natural flirt so their current environment suited her perfectly. "I could think of a few ways for you to do that but this isn't one of them, prepare to be surprised."

"For a second I thought you were going to say prepare to die," Brittany watched the blank expression on her neighbours face, "Princess Bride?"

Santana left out a chuckle. "I love that movie, I'm just messing with you. My name is Santana Lopez you are my dance instructor prepare to be surprised? Doesn't have the same ring to it." Brittany's face lit up as the girl drank some of her water making Santana's heart flutter ever so slightly.

"Let's see it then."

Looking around Santana realised that the ages in class varied from kids that still looked like they were in elementary school to seniors like herself. She imagined that some of these kids would have grown up dancing at this studio and the image that fluttered through her brain of Brittany teaching them was almost too adorable.

"Alright you guys ready?" The room erupted into cheers as Brittany stood at the front of the room facing everyone. "Okay, since I've had this stuck in my head for days, I want you all to suffer right along with me." She paused for added dramatics. "Who here has heard LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem?" The room cheered, the video was right once you heard the song it was like a virus you couldn't get out of your head. "I broke it down into four parts, the first part is the running man with a turn out."

Santana watched as Brittany went thru the moves a couple times to show everyone exactly what she was talking about before taking it more slowly. By the time class was about finished, they had only gotten about halfway thru the routine. The only person who seemed to be picking it up with utter ease was Santana, and Brittany had to admit that she was a bit surprised. The dance wasn't as easy as it looked but Santana had picked it up with next to no effort. When she was supposed to be looking at the whole class she found herself staring at Santana in the mirror. If she thought the girl was good looking before, watching her dance reinforced that idea ten fold.

"You weren't kidding girl, you can hold your own."

Santana smiled at Mercedes. "So you can you." She high fived the girl as she sat down to change her shoes. The younger girls surrounded Brittany asking her questions about the dance but also about other things that Santana didn't care to listen about. Just as she and Mercedes were about to leave the room she felt soft fingers graze her wrist.

"Hey, going to leave without saying bye?" She turned around and was met with gorgeous blue eyes.

"Didn't want to disturb the master." Her toothy grin played across her features. "I was going to pay then come back up and say bye."

Brittany shook her head. "You don't have to pay."

"Yes, I do that was awesome, I had a good time."

The blonde shook her head. "Thank you, but no really Quinn already paid, for the year actually." Santana's face gave away that she had no idea what Brittany was talking about. "We got into a conversation one day and started talking about dancing. She mentioned that you danced but she didn't say anything more. You were amazing."

Warmth covered her cheeks as she fought off a blush. "It was my teacher and I'm going to kill her."

"How about you come for a walk with me instead? That way I won't have to bail you out of jail in the morning."

"I never said I was going to get caught."

Someone cleared their throat and both girls looked over at a forgotten Mercedes. "I'm going home, you two have fun." The girl waved over her head as she headed downstairs.

"Bye." Both girls said in unison as the other girls form disappeared down the stairs.

"What do you say about that walk?"

Santana nodded. "I just have to go home and shower first."

Brittany shook her head no with a smile. "You're beautiful the way you are, you do smell though." Her comment made Santana feign hurt she also went to lunge at the taller girl but she wasn't quick enough. "Can't touch this, na na na na." Brittany sang as she started to do the Hammer dance across the room. Her actions caused a fit of giggles to erupt from Santana and before long Brittany was on the floor dying of laughter.

"Someone is going to walk in here and think we've been drinking." Santana said in between breaths as she helped Brittany back onto her feet. There was a little bit too much momentum as Brittany flew up onto her feet catching Santana by the waist she they both didn't topple over. Caught in the moment neither girl moved a inch, both scared to let out the breaths they were holding. Santana thought she should move in and kiss the girl but she didn't want to be that forward, though she hoped Brittany would be. Just as she had before the taller girl back away and winked.

"Come on, let's go for a walk, I'll buy the Starbucks."

"You're great by the way, I saw you in the other room before class."

Brittany blushed as she took a sip of her iced coffee. "You saw that did you?" Santana nodded with a smile. They were walking a quite street that was beautifully lit with white lights. It was still warm out but there was a slight breeze that made the air refreshing, especially after an intense dance session.

"You have that song stuck in my head, I hope you know that."

"At least we can suffer together." Brittany smiled and looked down at the pink drink in Santana's hands.

"That frappaccino any good? I've never had the strawberry one."

They came to a stop and turned towards one another. "Here, try some." Santana held the drink up for Brittany as the girl leaned forward and took a sip.

"Mmm, that is good." Smiling Santana brought the straw back to her own mouth. The blonde snickered as she watched the girl drink.

"What's so funny?"

"You got whip crème on your chin." Santana tried to wipe it off but couldn't seem to wipe the right spot. "I got it." Brittany reached her arm up and slowly brushed away the small speck of whip crème that was on the girls chin. They were caught in another daze, both looking at each other, almost daring the other to make the first move.

Finally they continued their walk, talking about dancing and cheerleading, to their favourite things to do on a Friday night. It was ten past ten when the two took a seat on a wooden bench in a small park.

"Romantic kiss fantasy, go." Brittany asked as she leaned her head back, looking up at the stars.

Santana thought for a minute before decided what she wanted her answer to be. "In the rain, like in romantic comedy's."

"Look at you, hopeless romantic over here."

"You?"

Brittany continued to look up at the stars. "Hmm, on the peer under the stars, maybe some soft Italian music playing."

"Italian music?" Santana asked confused as to what Italian music was, or at least what it was according to Brittany.

"Yeah you know like Bella Notta from Lady and the Tramp, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, that type of thing."

Santana laughed as she looked over at the blonde. "Talk about hopeless romantic, Disney movies have ruined you haven't they?"

"I plead the fifth."

"That's okay, me too but I swear if you tell anyone I will cut you." She gave Brittany a pointed look which only made the other girl laugh. Normally that looked scared people but it seemed to have the opposite affect on her neighbour.

They had spent another half hour talking, while finishing their Starbucks before they decided to head home. Santana wished she was tired but her mind was running a mile a minute as she pulled her car into the drive way, not bothering to park it in the garage.

She turned on her car alarm as she walked to her front door, the steps still foreign to her. Getting the door open she started to take her shoes off when she heard the door bell, startling her. "Who the hell." She mumbled to herself before slipping off another shoe before opening the door.

"Brittany." It came out as a shocked expression, not that she wasn't happy to see the girl.

"Hi, I was just, well I," the girl fumbled over her words which only surprised Santana further. The girl was always well spoken, she said what was on her mind with confidence in her tone but that didn't seem to be the case right now. "Did you, I mean would you want to come over tomorrow? I realised as I was driving home that I've never had you over, it seems only fair."

"I'd like that." Looking around the empty house Santana decided Quinn and Mercedes were right she needed to start getting back to herself. "Do you want to watch a movie, Princess Bride?" Brittany nodded as Santana opened the door giving the blonde room to move inside the house.


	5. Chapter 5  Dancing in the Moonlight

Chapter 5 - Dancing in the Moonlight

"I realised that you haven't been over to my place yet, so how would you like to come over tomorrow? I can give you the grand tour."

Santana smiled as she laid down on her bed after an intense dance session. "That sounds awesome, and way to kick my ass tonight I'm dead tired."

She heard the girl on the other end of the line laugh slightly. "Sorry, I should let you go and get some rest, you're probably sick of me."

Though she knew her action couldn't be seen the dark haired girl shook her head no. "No, you're fine, unless you want to go."

"I'm the one that called you remember?"

"True, you're accent sounds a lot thicker on the phone, I like it. Hold on I'm just going to change really quick." She set her phone down on her pillow before changing into silk boxers and a tank top. Picking the phone back up she laid back down on her bed and got under the covers. "Sorry about that."

"No worries, you're welcome over whenever tomorrow, I'm a bit of an early riser."

Santana laughed. "Yeah I know, I've seen you out jogging before I've even gone to bed."

"Running is my thang, keeps me fit." No response. "Santana?"

"Yeah, sorry I'm here, it's just you said thang."

"What? No I didn't." Brittany blushed on the other end of the phone, when she got nervous her accent seemed to come off a little stronger.

"You definitely did and it was the cutest thing I have ever heard."

"You should record yourself laughing then because that is way cuter than anything I could do or say." Brittany said as she too laid down on her bed.

Santana chuckled. "I hate my laugh, it's irritating, but if I didn't know any better I'd think you were flirting with me."

"So what if I am." Brittany yawned at the end of her sentence.

"Go get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow, I'll call before I come over. Be ready to get your tan on, and have a sexy bikini ready."

The blonde laughed. "Okay, you too, then again I think all you own is sexy bikini's or maybe you're so sexy it doesn't matter what you wear."

"Have you been creeping on tanning sessions?"

"Me? No, I would never due such a thing Miss. Lopez."

Santana smiled. "Mhmm, seems like I have a stalker."

"Keep dreaming."

"Maybe I will. Goodnight Britt."

"Night Santana, sweet dreams."

Once again Santana smiled as she felt the butterflies rise up in her stomach. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

When Santana woke up the next morning and checked her phone she smiled when she saw she had a text from Brittany. _Be by the pool, just come on over if you ring the doorbell I may or may not hear it but I'll leave it open just in case. _She had probably the quickest shower of her life and got ready to go over to her neighbours.

A half hour later she walked across the street and up the long driveway to the Pierce's porch. Taking a deep breath she reached up and pressed the doorbell. She had no idea was she was so nervous but she was, incredibly so. She didn't even know if Brittany was into her like that, now a days girls were flirty with each other and it could all just be in her head. Then she thought back to the girls face book status, and wondering if it was just a good song or how she actually felt. Santana was brought out of her daze when she heard the door open in front of her.

"Hey, glad you could make it." Brittany smiled.

"Morning, nice bikini." Santana said as she checked out the girl in front of her. Her purple bikini seemed to fit the blonde girl perfectly.

The girl looked down at herself before looking back up. "Thanks, come on in."

Taking a step inside Santana had to admire the house's beauty. The high ceilings and large foyer were exquisite. "Your house is beautiful."

"I'll be sure to tell my mom, she has a niche for those types of things." Santana nodded in agreement as they made their way out to the back of the house. "Can I get you something to eat? Drink?"

She shook her head. "I'm good thanks."

Brittany opened the sliding back doors that led to a large wooden deck. "Follow me." Santana couldn't help but let her eyes go wide, the backyard was huge. The pool looked to be Olympic size and it was attached to a hot tub under a rock waterfall.

"You've been holding out on me." Santana smiled as she followed Brittany to the lawn chairs.

"Told you, you should get out more."

"Fair enough, holy crap, is that a lake?" She asked as she looked past the fence that enclosed the yard.

Brittany blushed. "A small one, yeah, good for jet skiing and skating in the winter."

"The beach house just wasn't cutting it?" Santana joked as Brittany blushed a brighter red.

"My parents like property I guess. Come on, lets get our tan on." She watched the blonde lay down on the chair as she took off her shorts, then her tank top, exposing a black bikini. She didn't noticed Brittany look at her and smile as she laid down. "Nice bikini."

"Are you checking me out Miss. Pierce?"

Brittany shook her head and closed her eyes. "I would never do such a thing."

Twenty minutes later the sounds of Kings of Leon played over Brittany's speakers. "I'm impressed you like these guys."

"I told you, I'm not just country, that'd be boring."

Santana laughed as she found was becoming a habit when she was near the other girl. "Well if you're bored, how about getting the sunscreen on my back for me?" She smiled sweetly at the girl sitting next to her and she could have sworn she swore a glimmer of something flash thru the girls eyes.

"Turn over then, I promise not to bite, at least not hard."

"Maybe I'd like it if you need." They were definitely getting good at the flirting but Santana didn't want to read too much into it because her and Quinn flirted all the time but there was no way the best friends saw each other in a different manor.

They spent the rest of the morning and afternoon either by the pool or in it. At the moment Santana was laying on a pool chair, eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Smiling Brittany moved over and without so much as a second thought climbed up onto the chair, soaking a mostly dry Santana. The Latina squealed as cold water hit warm skin, her eyes popping open. She went to push the blonde girl off her but it was of no use as Brittany clung to the sides of the chair. "Oh come on Santana you know you wanted to get all up on this."

"More like you wants to die." She laughed not verbally admitting that she did in fact like the position Brittany had them in.

"I just wanted to get you wet."

Santana raised an eyebrow a coy smile playing over her lips. "Did you now?" She wiggled her eyebrows causing Brittany to burst into a fit of laughter. "That's what I thought." With one final push she was able to move Brittany off her but the blonde managed to grab the chair and tip in over in the process. Both girls laughed as they came above water.

"You ladies having fun." They turned and looked over at Mrs. Pierce.

"Hi mom and yes we are."

Santana smiled. "Hi, Mrs. Pierce." The woman gave her a look. "Sorry, hi Karen."

"That's more like it. Glad to have you over finally, Brittany have you fed the poor girl?"

Brittany shook her head. "Not yet, we're going to order a pizza or something for dinner though."

"That's fine, I just came out to tell you that your father and I are leaving soon. We got a hotel room so you'll have the house to yourself tonight."

"Cool, I think we may just stay in and hang out, I think I killed us both at the studio last night."

Karen laughed as Santana nodded her head. "Brittany mentioned you're quite the talented dancer." This time it was Santana's turn to blush. "Alright well you ladies have fun and stay out of trouble."

The older Pierce headed back inside leaving both girls in the pool. Santana pulled herself up onto the ledge and sat with her legs dangling in the water. Brittany moved over and stood in front of her, placing her hands on either sides of her legs.

"So who said I was going to spend my night relaxing with you?"

"Do you have other options?" Brittany asked which only made Santana like her more. There weren't many people that would give her own attitude back to her and Brittany seemed to be one of those people.

"You're feisty, I like that and no I guess I don't."

Brittany smiled. "What do you say to some pizza and a One Tree Hill marathon?"

"Only if we can get our cuddle on."

"Works for me." She winked before moving aside and pulling herself out of the pool.

"Guess I should head home and change first, I won't be too long."

Brittany waved her hand. "You can just borrow something of mine, more time for cuddling."

Santana shook her head. "You are good."

Brittany handed Santana her towel before leading them back inside and upstairs to her room. To say the girl had a nice room was an understatement. The walls were a deep purple and her white four poster bed added the perfect touch. Pictures lined the walls and various trophies from cheering and dance sat atop one of her dressers. Brittany walked over to her a door, when she opened it Santana almost had a heart attack. "That's your closet? You really are a girl after my own heart." Brittany smiled and motioned for the girl to follow her in.

"Pick out whatever you want, it should fit or it'll only be a little bit longer." Looking around Santana grabbed a pair of grey reebok sweat pants and Brittany's cheerleading sweater. "You can use my bathroom, it's the only other door in my room well aside from the balcony."

"Thanks Brit." Smiling Santana went into the bathroom to change. She let her hair out of the elastic that had been holding it up before changing into the sweats she had taken from Brittany's closet. While it was hot outside the house was cool so a hoodie was necessary and she thanked the cool air because she had never put on a more comfortable sweater, that and it smelled like Brittany.

A few minutes later she emerged from the bathroom to find Brittany laying on her bed reading the latest edition of Cosmo Girl. "Anything new and exciting in the world of Cosmo?"

Looking up from the magazine Brittany smiled before putting it down. "Not really, I was just looking at the pictures, too lazy to read. Come on lets go order us some pizza and cuddle up on the couch." She winked, walking out of her bedroom.

Four hours and four episodes later the two girls were laying on the couch with Santana's head in Brittany's lap. The taller girl was massaging her scalp with the tips of her fingers. "Some of that looked really familiar, like the stuff we saw downtown the other night."

Brittany couldn't help but giggle slightly. "They filmed it here."

"Seriously? I thought it was just a set."

Brittany shook her head as Santana looked up at her. "Nope, Wilmington, North Carolina home of One Tree Hill. Not so different from home after all is it?"

"Touche, but it is, trust me."

"How so?"

Santana turned so that she was facing looking up at Brittany. "You don't want to hear about that."

"Sure I do, I know you miss it, friends are here to listen, and I want to know where you came from."

"There's a lot more partying, and people are mostly out for themselves. Nothing at all like it is here, everyone is just so respectful."

"It's the southern charm without being so southern that there's kissin' cousins."

Santana laughed, no one had ever made her laugh the way Brittany did and she loved it. "Take it you've never been to Cali?"

Brittany shook her head no. "I heard the surf is pretty good, but we've got good surf here so it's alright."

"Wait you surf?" Brittany nodded. "There's surfing out here?" She nodded again. "When can we go? I mean I'm not very good but I love to watch."

"Whenever you want pretty girl." Looking at the time Brittany smiled. "Want to go sit on the dock?" Santana nodded, stood up and rolled the waist band of Brittany's track pants so they didn't hang on the ground.

"It's perfect out here." Santana said as the cool breeze made the temperature just right.

Brittany looked at Santana and smiled. "Yeah, it is, best view I've seen in a long time."

"You know what would make this even better?" Brittany shook her head with a smile wondering what Santana had in mind. Santana pulled her out her Iphone, scrolled through her play lists before finding the song she wanted. Hitting play she turned the volume all the way up and let the soft sounds fill the air. "Dancing under a southern sky, what do you say?"

Before answering Brittany smiled and grabbed one of Santana's hands and placed her other hand on the slightly shorter girls hip. "I say you read my mind." The blonde twirled Santana as they swayed to the sound of the music. Laughing when they almost fell off the dock into the water. "You'd think we'd been drinking." Brittany said as she held Santana a little closer.

"No, if we had, we'd probably be making out by now." Even Santana wasn't sure if she had been completely joking or not but Brittany laughed so she wasn't too embarrassed.

A few songs later they stopped dancing at headed back up to the close. The hot summer's sun had taken its toll on them and although they were having fun, they were both in need of sleep, especially if they wanted to do it all over again tomorrow.

"You wanna stay the night?" Brittany asked more shyly than she normally would have. "I mean, I know ya'lls house is right across the street but I figured you could stay, it's not big thang if you don't want to though."

Santana smiled from ear to ear as she heard Brittany's familiar accent come out in full force. "What side of the bed do you want?" Grinning Brittany jumped into bed and pulled the covers back for Santana, a bottle of water sitting on either side of the bed.

"I was watching A Walk To Remember, if you're interested, I didn't get very far into it."

"Sounds perfect." Santana crawled into bed next to her new found friend, and something told her that there were going to be a lot of nights spent like this. Her and Brittany cuddled up in bed the way she would have been with Quinn, only it was different. There was something special there that she couldn't quite place her finger on. Normally she would have already tried to kiss the girl but it wasn't just her uncertainty of the other girls feelings stopping her, it was her own feelings. It was wanting to take her time, but it was also not wanting to get to attached because her plan was still the same.


	6. Chapter 6  Just A Kiss

**A/N: Just wanted to take a minute to say thank you all so much for the reviews, you guys are awesome! **

Chapter 6 - Just A Kiss (Lady Antebellum)

The next couple of weeks played exactly the same way, Santana and Brittany laying by the pool, having sleepovers, going to dance class and most importantly getting to know each other. Although it already felt like they had known each other their whole lives, they forgot sometimes they didn't grow up together but what they did know was that they had quickly become best friends.

Regardless of their new found friendship Santana still wasn't certain where the electricity was coming from. If it was all from her or if maybe Brittany felt it too, that spark of something that could lead them beyond friendship. She couldn't lie, there were times when they were tanning, swimming and dancing when she found herself checking Brittany out as more than a friend. It was the one thing that hadn't changed since they had started spending time together. A part of her hoped that becoming friends with her neighbour would help stop any other feelings but as it turns out it was only making it worse.

It had become rare for either girl to sleep in their own bed alone, you'd think being neighbours that they would simply go home when the night was done but more times than not they ended up sharing the same bed. Tonight wasn't one of those nights, the Pierce's had a family get together to go to and although Brittany had asked Santana if she wanted to tag along she had declined. She figured it'd be nice to spend some time with her own family and she needed to have a long talk with Quinn, whom she hadn't really spoken to in awhile.

"It's 11 p.m. on a Friday night and you're home, calling me? Shocking." Quinn had said as soon as she answered the phone.

"Hello to you too ass clown." Santana flopped back on her bed.

The girl on the other end of the line laughed. "There's the Santana Lopez I know and love. Here I thought Wilmington was making you all soft, or wait that's pretty never mind.

"Bitch, I will cut you Fabray."

"Oh whatever, okay, enough of this I want details."

Santana rolled her eyes. "What details?"

"You and the adorable blonde across the street whose pants you want to get in."

There was no lying about it, the thought did bring a smile to Santana's face but it wasn't about that with Brittany. Sure in the past she'd been a little bit of what you'd call a slut but things had changed. "It's not like that, I really do like her. We hang out, we have fun, we go on crazy adventures to the pool." Both girls laughed, knowing that there wasn't really crazy adventures to be had in North Carolina, as opposed to all the crazy they managed to get themselves into on their road trips to L.A.

"Have you two kissed yet?" There was no answer. "Seriously? Wow, you really are losing your game."

"Shut up! It's not like that with her and we've become best friends. If I were to just go for it and mess up then my whole school year is going to be awkward. People aren't as a liberal out here."

Quinn huffed causing Santana to roll her eyes. "You're such a chicken shit, but because I'm a great friend I'll talk to Brittany and see where her head is at."

"You wouldn't dare tell her!" Santana nearly screamed. "Enough about me what's going on back home?"

"Same old, same old. There was a party at Pucks the other day and surprisingly he mostly just moped around. I think you took his balls with him when you left."

Santana let out a loud laugh. "Not like he knew how to use them anyways."

It was the first day in at least a month that she hadn't spoken to Brittany at all. Most people would savour having the day to themselves without having to find conversation but not Santana, not when it concerned Brittany. There was no awkward silence between and there was nothing they couldn't talk about. Sure sometimes Brittany said things that were a little on the dumb blonde side but Santana found them entirely adorable and sure sometimes Santana's bitchy side came out to play but Brittany seemed to laugh it off. As sweet as she was she wasn't without a backbone.

Reaching over she grabbed her phone off her nightstand and turned its backlight on. Only the time came up instead of the text message she was hoping might be there. She had just gotten this feeling like Brittany was going to send her something and she couldn't quite let it pass. Taking a deep breath she rolled over and tossed her phone onto the other side of her bed. She was never one to just let someone else make the move, if she wanted something Santana made sure that she got it. Channelling her confidence she picked up the phone without worrying what the time was and typed out a message before hitting send. Just as the message came up sent her screen flashed and she couldn't help but smile.

Both messages had read the exactly same thing. _I miss you. _It really was as if they had known each other their whole lives. Smiling Santana felt her mischievous side come out to play so she responded before Brittany could. _Want to sneak out, go skinny dipping? ;). _

She waited a minute as she got two texts at the same time. _You're so cute reading my mind. Seriously? It's a date, meet you outside in ten. _

Reading the message Santana's mind went blank, did the girl really mean an impromptu date or was it just an expression. Shaking the cobwebs out she rushed around her room to get dressed. She grabbed a bag with some towels before grabbing her keys and heading downstairs.

When she walked out onto the street she saw Brittany standing next to her truck. As if they hadn't seen each other in weeks they hugged before Brittany opened the door letting Santana climb in. Neither said a word as Brittany slowly got in and turned the ignition on.

"Are you taking me off somewhere to kill me?"

Brittany laughed as she shook her head. "This isn't L.A. or New York, you're safe. Patience."

"I lost patience when we lost the paved road." Santana chuckled as Brittany drove her truck onto a patch of grass just off the side of the road.

Another minute later after bouncing over a few branches and uneven ground Brittany turned the truck so she could back it the rest of the way you in. Not wanting to watch Santana closed her eyes, this was far too country for her but she had faith that Brittany knew what she was doing.

"Come on, let's go." Brittany tapped Santana on the leg before jumping out of her truck and running. A few seconds later Santana heard a splash come from behind the truck and without waiting any longer she grabbed the bag of towels and headed towards the sound. She followed the trail of clothes Brittany had left behind, shaking her head as she made her way towards the dock.

She dropped the bag and looked around for Brittany. "Seriously? When I said skinny dipping, I meant in a pool, a fish free pool."

"What are you scared off, they just might kiss your toes, no big deal." Santana shook her head no. "I dare ya, you big ol' chicken. Besides the ocean is way better than a pool."

"Ocean? What are you…" She trailed off, finally looking around at her surroundings. Sure enough the dock was connected to a small beach, she hadn't noticed running across the sand in her hurry to get to Brittany.

"Now come on, get in."

"Turn around, this ain't a peep show." Brittany laughed and turned around as Santana stripped down and jumped into the water. "Holy shit, that's cold Brit!"

"Suck it up princess." Brittany turned around and waited for Santana to swim out to her.

Both girls were treading water, when Santana felt the need to splash Brittany. A wave of water flew up into the girls face. "Payback is a bitch."

"Yeah it is." Without thinking Brittany moved forward, and used her height advantage to place both of her hands on top of Santana's head pushing her underwater.

"I can't believe you just got my hair wet." Santana reached out and slapped Brittany's arm.

Laughing the blonde grabbed a hold of Santana's hand before it reached her arm, pulling the girl into her. "I can't believe you just tried to slap me."

"Whatever, you deserved."

"Whatever." Brittany mocked with a slight eye roll.

"I think we should let them get away with it, just this once." Karen said as smiled at Maria.

Santana's mother nodded in agreement. "Santana was miserable all day."

"Brittany too, and too think they were only a part for a day. It's good to see Santana finally coming out of her shell though."

"It's most certainly a blessing, I hoped she would at some point but she is stubborn like her father."

Karen smiled. "I'm pretty sure I know where they went anyways, Brittany's favourite towel is gone and they're both responsible girls."

"Honestly Karen, at this point I'll try almost anything to get her to stay here and not go back to California. I think this place is a lot better for her."

"I hope she stays too, she's become a friend of the family's not just Brittany's." The admission made Maria smile.

"We should head to bed ourselves before our husbands find out." Both mothers laughed before heading back to their respective houses. Glad that both their daughters were enjoying the summer.

Santana climbed out of the water and wrapped the towel around herself. "K, your turn." She turned her back from the water and was surprised when she felt a chin rest on her shoulder. "Hi." She jumped slightly, making Brittany laugh.

"That was fun." Santana started picking up all their clothes.

Brittany smiled as both girls started to walk back to shore. "Yeah it was, I'm just disappointed the fish didn't kiss your toes."

"Yeah me too, I could use a prince charming." They always joked like this, whether it was fish, frogs, the odd deer.

"What I'm not good enough for you anymore? They don't call me princess charming for nothing you know."

Santana raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yep." Grinning Brittany picked up Santana, one arm under her legs, the other around her back.

Laughing, Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck as the taller girl led them to the sand. She sat down with Santana still in her arms. "You cold?"

"A little bit, but isn't that what you're for princess?"

Brittany smiled and wiggled out from beneath Santana. She started looking around for branches, twigs and rocks. She dropped the pile in front of where they had been sitting. "Turn around you little perv so I can change and start you a fire."

Instead Santana closed her eyes and held the towel close to her chest. "Tell you what, turn around and I'll turn around so I can change too."

"Okay," was Brittany's response as Santana turned around and started pulling her clothes back on. She used the towel to wring out her hair was she was fully changed, instead of putting it back up into a pony tail she let it hang loose since it was still quite wet. "You good yet?"

"Nope, one more second." Santana rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, waiting for her signal to turn back around. "Okay, you can turn around now you're majesty."

Her mouth dropped and eyes widened as she saw the flame. "Damn, you're good."

"Thank you, thank you." Brittany bowed with a smile. "I was wondering where that sweater went."

Looking down Santana felt her cheeks suddenly become warm as she realised what sweater she had been wearing when she left the house. "Sorry." Her reply was soft, she was honestly a little embarrassed.

"It's cool, its look cute on you." Brittany opened her arms up as she sat back down and waited for Santana to sit down next to her. Sure enough a few moments later Santana was wrapped in Brittany's arms, both girls silent watching the fire.

"We should do this more often."

"The skinny dipping or the cuddling? Because I'm pretty sure we do our fair share of cuddling but there's no such thing as too much cuddling, especially with you."

Santana leaned her head back on Brittany's shoulder and looked at the girl. Blue eyes meeting brown, as waves hitting the shore made for the perfect soundtrack to their night. "Always so damn cute."

Brittany shrugged. "It comes naturally."

An hour later they were laying on the back of Brittany's truck. The blonde had laid a few blankets down so they could lay back and look up at the stars, something that had become tradition for them. They were both laying on their backs, shoulders touching when they saw a shooting star fly through the sky.

"Did you see that?" Brittany asked a little more excited than she should have been.

"Mhmm, did you make your wish?"

"Yes, I did and no, I'm not telling you but can I tell you something else?"

Santana turned her head and looked over at her friend. "Of course, you know you can tell me anything."

"You're hair looks really good when you leave it out like that and by really good I mean really sexy so remember that next time the boys are around. Speaking of, anyone of them caught you're eye yet?"

"You're funny Brit, you know there's only you." She hoped it came off as a joke even though she was completely serious.

Santana let out a slight yawn and wondered where she was before remembering that her and Brittany had snuck out. She smiled and slowly opened her eyes, it was still dark out but it wasn't nearly as dark as it was before. The smile she had only grew when the first thing she saw was blue eyes looking back at her. Neither girl spoke a word, they both continued to look at one another, neither moving from the way they had woken up. Their faces were close, incredibly close as Santana could feel warm breath tickle her nose. Their foreheads nearly pressed together, Brittany moved first. She brought her hand up and slowly tucked a strand of hair behind Santana's ear. Still the only thing that could be heard was the crickets, the wave crashing onto shore and even breaths.

A stray hair fell in front of Brittany's eye and without hesitating Santana reached her hand up and brushed her hair back. Still they didn't look away from one another, both unsure of what to do, not wanting to push anything too far. After what seemed like forever Santana smiled softly and Brittany turned her head away, stretching out her long limbs. "Morning sleepy head."

"Hi." Was all Santana could manage, her voice still caught in her throat.

"Guess I should get you home before your parents wake up and kill me."

Santana shook her head. "They'll kill me, it was my idea, besides they love you."

Brittany laughed as she sat up. Turning around she put her hand out to help Santana up. "That's true." Helping the girl off the tailgate Brittany walked around and opened the door for Santana before moving around to the drivers side. "Let's get you home princess Lopez."

"Lead the way princess charming."

Brittany being the charming princess that she was walked Santana to her backdoor. "Thanks, I had a lot of fun tonight, like always. I really missed you today." She let out possibly a little to honest.

Santana smiled in return. "Yeah me too, see you tomorrow, well later today?" Brittany nodded and gave the girl a quick hug before walking down the back porch steps. "Wait, Brits come back here."

The blonde all but ran back up the stairs and gave Santana another hug, this time lifting the girl up, giving her a squeeze. "Yes princess."

"What'd you wish for?" Santana asked once her feet were back on the ground.

Nothing had changed with that question but suddenly the look in Brittany's bright blue eyes grew a little darker and Santana remembered that glimmer, she'd seen it a few times. Then before she knew it she felt a warm palm rest on her cheek and Brittany was leaning down. She felt warm lips cover her own, soft and sweet. It took her a moment before her brain fully registered what was going on. Santana reached her hand out and rested it on Brittany's hip, needing to make sure this wasn't some dream. It wasn't a messy kiss or one full of passion and incredibly heated, it was sweet and real. Santana's upper lip parted Brittany's so she could kiss the girls bottom lip. She could feel her heart start to race and before she could deepen the kiss Brittany pulled away.

"Goodnight Santana." Brittany smiled sweetly as she walked back down the steps. It wasn't until she disappeared around the corner that Santana snapped out of her gaze and walked inside.

Making her way into her washroom she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. A half hour later she turned over and looked up at her ceiling. Sighing she got up and grabbed her lap top off her desk. She wasn't sure what was up with Brittany, if the girl had regretted what happened or if she was just being shy. So she did the one thing she could think of, she checked her face book.

_Brittany S. Pierce _

_Lying here with you so close to me, its hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe. Caught up in this moment, caught up in your smile…Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight, just a touch of the fire burning so bright, I don't want to mess this thing up, I don't want to push too far…So baby I'm alright with just a kiss goodnight. _

_**About an hour ago. **_


	7. Chapter 7  What I Know

Chapter 7 - What I Know (Parachute)

"I don't know she hasn't talked to me in a week, then you know what happened and I haven't tried to talk to her since."

"Did you creep her facebook? Maybe it's family stuff? He could just be a friend, if you saw her with Sam or Mike there would be no problem."

Santana sighed as she laid back on her bed, grabbing her pillow to cover her face. "Nothing changed, I really don't know that the deal is."

"Are you going to the class tonight?" Quinn asked, wishing she was closer so she could be there for more than just a phone conversation with her best friend.

"Hell to the no!" Quinn laughed leaving Santana even more irritated. "Seriously? That's not helping, what the fuck are you laughing at."

"I'm just glad you found the city girl in you again, the take no prisoners attitude. Okay are you at least going to the fair tonight?"

"Yeah, Mercedes, Sam and some other people are going when Mercedes is done class."

_Day after the kiss _

"_Pool at my place today?" She asked as she held the phone up to her ear, trying to calm her nerves. So what they had kissed, it wasn't like it was a huge deal and things had to be awkward now. _

"_I'm sorry Santana, I can't. Rain check?" _

_So much for things not being awkward. "Yeah sure, have a good day Brit." _

"_You too." She heard the click on the other end of the line. One kiss and everything that had been built over the past month and a half was crumbling at her feet. _

_After hours of staying inside watching the rain fall she couldn't take it anymore. She needed to go out, she needed to do something to take her mind off Brittany. Something was off and she knew it, the girl had never been short with her, not even the day we had met. Naturally she started to worry, Brittany was her one real friend out here and all the other people she know considered friends were friends because Brittany had introduced them. If things were weird around Brittany there was no way things wouldn't be weird around them, just by association. _

_As she walked out of the house to her car she wasn't sure where to go or if she should text someone to go with her. For awhile she just drove, still unsure of what to do, not having Brittany around if even for a day really sucked. She was accustomed to her phone ringing non-stop of people wanting to go to the beach or into the city but that wasn't the case here. She knew she had to start making better relationships but she still didn't want to get attached. Her plan remained, even if it wasn't always front and centre it was also there. Not to mention she didn't know what to do when it rained, at least not if it rained more than once a month. _

_Passing a Starbucks she realised her coffee addiction had taken a major hit. It wasn't that there wasn't a Starbucks around because there was, two to be exact but they were further away than she was used to. As she parked her car and got out she hoped that a nice warm venti caramel macchiato would make the day more bearable. The rain was started to come down harder as she entered the coffee house, and thankfully there was nearly no line. Without paying much attention to her attention she walked up to the register and ordered her drink. _

_Her wait time for barely a minute, something she was almost certain was a record. Normally the line ups were brutal and it took forever but she figured the rain had kept everyone inside, and that everyone else was at work. The question now was what else there was to do. Retail therapy, she thought to herself as she thanked the barista for her coffee. Before opening the door she unlocked so she could minimize the damage done by the rain. As she walked out the door something blonde caught her eyes. The door closed as she turned her head to look back thru the glass at what it was_

_There she was, blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, using her straw to put whip crème on some crippled kids nose. Sure that was entirely politically correct but at the moment she didn't care what it is. The only thing she cared about was that her Brittany, the girl that had kissed her on the porch the night before was now getting her flirt on with someone else. _

_The rain was gradually started to come down harder but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight she was seeing through the glass. Her heart sank, the butterflies that once lived there vanished as she felt the anger build up inside her. Then, almost as soon as it had reared its ugly head the anger faded and she was left with an ache in her chest she couldn't quite get rid of. To say that it felt as though someone had stabbed her with a knife, while over dramatic, was completely accurate. Time felt like it had slowed as she kept watching the girl shamelessly flirt with the boy, whose hair she really just wanted to take a pair of scissors too. Finally finding her feet again she raced back to her car, not wanting to been. Once safely inside she let a single tear fall from her eyes and if you asked her about it again she'd say that it was the rain, it wasn't. _

'_It was probably a misunderstanding', at least that's what Quinn had told her. She wanted to believe her best friend, she wanted to believe that what had happened between her and her neighbour was real and not a mistake. 'Talk to her about the fair that opens soon, you guys were supposed to go so it's the perfect opportunity to talk to her.' _

'_We still on for the fair?' The text was hard for her to write, she was still hurt and angry but Quinn was right, she at least had to give Brittany the benefit of the doubt. _

'_Yeah, how about the 24th__? I know it's three weeks away but it's the last day of the fair, it's normally the best anyways. It'll keep us distracted from thinking about starting school the next day.' Santana read the text no less than four times and in her mind it meant that Brittany didn't want to see her for at least three weeks. When they had first talked about it Brittany made it seem like they should go almost every day, or at least the first and last day. Now Santana felt like she was being put on the backburner, and it only reinforced what she had thought earlier. Brittany had a boyfriend. Brittany had a boyfriend and he hadn't just sprung up over night, he had always been there. _

Turned out that Brittany apparently had plans that she couldn't get out of and that was why she suggested the last day opposed to the first. Santana knew that plans meant spending time with the crippled kid. _Not like her can actually go on any rides. _Santana scolded herself internally for bashing the kid with the condition that he was in, but she was jealous. Normally jealousy wasn't her style but right now she had a bad case of it.

"Hey girl." Mercedes waved as she pulled into her driveway. "Get your booty in the car so we can go hot stuff." Santana couldn't help but smile at the girls attempt to make her feel better. While Mercedes didn't know the finer details of the mood Santana had been in later she knew that it had something to do with Brittany. "Sam and everyone else are going to meet us there since I wanted to go home and change after class."

"Works for me, way to look hot and not like a cowboy."

"Thanks, you too. Ready to knock them boys off their feet?"

Santana smiled devilishly. "I'm 'bout to bring it."

They had been at the fair for awhile now, and for the most part it was exactly as Santana imagined it, only slightly bigger and more elaborate. She was expecting rides that couldn't really be gone on because they were falling apart, crazy carni's trying to get you to play games and beer, lots of beer. Sure there were carni's and there were rides, but the rides looked like they could be at an amusement park and were not run down.

As the small group walked around eating cotton candy and drinking slushies they carried on funny conversations. Santana had to admit being out with different people was nice for a change but she still missed Brittany. She was at her most comfortable around her neighbour, it was easier for her to be herself.

"Hey ya'll look," Sam pointed across the grass. "Come on, let's go over and say hi." Santana and Mercedes didn't bother to look too deep in their conversation about the best songs of the 90's. They followed the group of guys until they finally came to a stop at a ticket booth. It was then that Santana looked up and instantly wanted to either puke, go home, or both.

Brittany was knelt down in front of the boy in the wheelchair and it looked like they were having an intense conversation. At least until Santana watched Brittany lean her head back and laugh, a laugh she loved eliciting from the other girl.

"I didn't know Artie was finally back." Sam said as he wanted for everyone else to get their tickets.

"Who's the crip?" Santana whispered in Mercedes direction.

"Oh, that's Artie, Brittany's boyfriend. He's cool, don't let the wheelchair fool you. They've been together for like ever but his family goes on really long vacations during the summer."

There it was, that sickening feeling in her stomach again. Except this time it was just an expression. Clasping a hand over her mouth she moved around the side of the booth before emptying the contents of her stomach onto the grass. She was right, Brittany had had a boyfriend and she was nothing more than a joke, someone to help pass the time.

"You alright?" She heard Mercedes ask, feeling a hand start to rub her back.

She nodded. "Yeah, just suddenly not feeling very well, must have been that hot dog or something.

"Come on, I'll take you home." It was the best thing Santana had heard all night. At least until she realised she had to walk in Brittany's direction in order to the car. After sipping on some water that Sam brought her she was finally ready to go home.

The closer they got to the couple the anger and hurt started to boil over. "Some plans." Santana huffed as they walked by the couple, finally breaking Brittany from her Artie bubble. Before the blonde could say a word Santana and Mercedes were half way to the car.

Once Mercedes had dropped her off Santana went upstairs changed, grabbed her keys and headed out to her car. She needed to get away, she needed to do something to take her mind off the rush of information she had just gotten.

Driving helped her clear her head, not that she knew where she was going. She was just driving, the white strips blurred and helped her ease her mind. A single line kept playing over and over again in her head, 'Brittany's boyfriend'. After an hour she stopped her car and pulled off onto the shoulder. She definitely didn't know where she was and she had no service. All that was around were trees and an open road. The rain was coming down so hard now she could barely see a foot in front of her and she was content to lean her sit back and close her eyes.

With her eyes closed all she could see was the agonizingly beautiful face. Flashes of smiles played across her mind and she couldn't help but let the tears flow freely. She hated to cry and she especially hated to cry over someone that she had a crush on. But there she was, alone in the middle of nowhere crying over a stupid girl. She never should have gotten her hopes up, the ache in her chest wasn't worth the single kiss they had shared. It wasn't worth having to see Brittany with Alfie, Alf, whatever is name was. Come to think of it the alien monster Alf was a lot cuter than the thing Brittany was seeing.

An hour later the rain had stopped falling so hard and Santana had composed herself enough to figure out how to get home. Looking down at her phone she realised she had no service, probably a good thing since she really had just wanted to cut herself of the world for awhile. Turning the key that was still in the ignition she waited for it to start. It didn't. She tried again. No luck. Once more. Nothing. She smacked her hands down on the steering wheel before leaning back in her chair. "Fuck!" She yelled out as she hit the steering wheel once more leaving her hands red. "Great now what am I supposed to do, not only is it raining and my car if fucked but I have no service."

She waited another fifteen minutes before trying her car again. Nothing. All she could do was wait it out for a bit longer and see if anyone else drove by. That or wait until the rain stopped so she could start to walk back far enough for her to get cell service.

Another half hour came and went, her car still wouldn't start and the rain wouldn't stop. She wasn't sure how much longer she could wait it out, before her parents started to get really worried. Soon she'd have to suck it up and bare the elements if it meant getting home sometime before Christmas. Her eyes were closed, her mind was reeling, she didn't see the vehicle pull up behind her. It wasn't until she heard a knock on her window that she was brought out of her daze. Relief washing over her as she realised someone was around to help.

She quickly opened her door and stepped out, looking up she was shocked to find blue eyes looking back at her. This time they were different, they were tired, sad and what looked to be a bit angry. "What are you doing here?" She asked with a fierceness the blonde didn't know Santana had.

"Went for a drive, what are you doing out here?"

"Went for a drive, car broke down." Shaking her head the blonde opened the drivers side door and popped the hood.

"Get back inside so you don't get sick, you can go sit in my truck if you want."

Santana shook her head. "I'm fine in my car, you should just go."

"I'm not leaving you stranded out here, get in the car Santana." She wasn't sure why but she listened to the girl. She had been out for what seemed like hours and she knew her parents would be getting worried, she needed to get home so she took the help she could get. For right now she was also fine letting Brittany stand outside in the rain. Another couple minutes later Brittany tapped on the glass again, this time Santana rolled down her window.

"Looks like you've got a short, this rain probably didn't help, I have no cell service because of the storm and it's only supposed to get worse. Come on, I'll book us a room, there's a motel not to far from here."

Santana laughed as she got out of the car, keys in hand. "Thanks but I'll pass, just point me in the right direction and we can both be on our way."

"Santana stop, what are you doing its pouring and dark, you don't know who's out here."

"Yeah I do, you are and frankly I'd rather tempt fate with psycho lady killers right now. I'm also going to guess that the motel is that way," she pointed in front of her, "since I came from the other way and didn't see one. Thanks for you're help, run along back to your boyfriend or should I say roll." She turned and walked away leaving Brittany standing there soaking wet.

"Would you stop!" Brittany yelled from where she was still glued to the ground. "Just stop Santana, please if something happened to you…" She trailed off happy that her comment as least got the other girl to turn around.

"If something happened to me what?"

Brittany shook her head. "Please just get in the truck so I can get you some place dry. It's not a short walk to the motel. We don't even have to talk, just, please."

The angry side of Santana wanted to turn around and keep walking away but the cold, soaked, sensible side told her to go with Brittany. Without saying a word she started to walk towards Brittany's truck, locking her car as she walked by it. She brushed past Brittany bumping the girls shoulder with her own before opening the passenger side door for herself. A moment later a soaking wet Brittany got into truck, neither girl said a word. "We're getting their, I'm calling my parents and a tow truck then you're leaving."

Brittany nodded without saying a word.

A/N: Please don't kill me, I'm too young to die. I know it isn't all rainbows and fluff but a girl can only write so much fluff before there needs to be some drama. Thank you all once again for all the lovely reviews, they're inspiring to say the very least. Also feel free to request some songs you think might fit, the hardest part about writing this fic sometimes is finding the right song to use so the more options the better. Thanks again and I hope you liked it.


	8. Chapter 8  Dare You To Move

A/N: Hey all, as always I just wanted to say thank you for all the reviews. You all stun me every time I upload a new chapter. As much as I love you all I have some good news and bad news. Good news is, new chapter, bad news is that I'm off to the cottage for a week and won't have a computer so it'll be at least a week before a new chapter shows up. Good news x 2 is that I'll have lots of time to think about where I want this story to go. Hope you all enjoy this one though.

Chapter 8 - Dare You To Move (Switchfoot)

"What are you doing, did he say we could use the phone?" Santana sat facing Brittany as the girl drove her truck around the deserted motel lot. She parked outside room 13 and waited a moment before turning her truck of. She was nervous of the news that she had to give, the Latina was a firecracker and Brittany wasn't sure she could contain then girl. "Well, I'm not liking being this close to you right now so can I just use the phone and bounce." The rain had tapered off slightly but from what the radio had said, it was only going to get worse as the night rolled on.

Santana watched as Brittany got out of the truck and rain towards the door, trying to unlock it as quickly as possible. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on but she had a feeling the blonde wanted her to follow her. That wasn't about to happen. The last thing Santana wanted was to be at senor cracked inn, in the middle of bumfucknowhere. The only thing that made Santana move from her seat was the fact that she needed to call her parents and let them know that she was alright. She was already positive she was grounded for forever but she hoped a phone call would knock at least one life sentence off it.

She braced herself for the ache in her bones that she knew she would feel once she stepped into the rain. Stepping out she looked Brittany right in the eye, moving only somewhat closer to the door, the warmth, and the girl who unknowingly hurt her. "What did he say about us using the phone." Instead of an answer she got a hand on a hip and a glare, Brittany was good at this, Santana could at least admit that much. "Tell me."

"Not until you get in here and out of the rain, you're going to get sick." Santana didn't move so Brittany decided to give her what she wanted, an answer. "The phone lines are out, he let make one call on his emergency line but it needs to stay open."

"So you didn't get me so I could call my parents, forget this." Internally she knew she was being stupid, she was being childish and somewhere deep in her consciousness she told herself not to do it. She did it anyway. Turning on her heels she started walking towards the road, between the rain and it being dark she couldn't see in front of her, scratch that, she couldn't see at all.

She was pretty sure she was half way to the road when she felt warm fingers wrap around her wrist. Her blood pressure instantly shot up like it always did when Brittany touched her, even the most innocent of touches would make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "What are you doing?" Brittany yelled over the sound of rain and thunder. "You're going to get sick, just come inside."

"You're one to talk, just leave me alone Brittany." She pulled her hand out of the blondes grasp.

Huffing Brittany kept walking behind Santana. "That's your favourite summer dress and you're ruining it." This made her stop dead in tracks, damn the girl definitely was good at this. "I called your parents, and told them what happened. The line kept cutting out but they got what they needed too. They asked me to keep you safe Santana so that's what I'm going to do."

"I can take perfectly good care of myself, I don't need you trying to be my knight."

"Princess," Brittany reminded her and if she could see clearly the blonde knew Santana was giving her a death glare for the correction. "I dare you to move like today never happened, please Santana just come on in from the cold." There it was again, a strong southern accent that always managed to make Santana weak at the knees.

There was one thing making her walk right now and it was her parents. She knew if something were to happen they'd never forgive themselves. Brushing past Brittany with a shove she ran into the motel room, door open a crack my the door stop. Pushing it open she felt the warm air hit her and she realised just how cold she had been standing out in the rain. But what she really noticed for the first time was how soaking wet and defeated Brittany looked. It wasn't until the girl had walked in the door after her that she realised the blonde was soaked head to toe. She also noticed the bag the girl now clutched in her hand.

"Clothes, I always keep spares in my truck and you left some stuff in there the other night. You should try and take a shower, get warm."

"I don't need you to take care of me." Was all Santana said as she grabbed the clothes out of Brittany's hand and headed towards the washroom.

Once she heard the shower turn on Brittany decided that she would go find them something to eat, and she was pretty sure she saw a vending machine near the front office. That and she wanted to give Santana some time to herself, she knew the girl was pissed and she completely understood why.

When Santana stepped out of the shower, only ending her shower because the power had gone out, she was amazed at the light in the room. There must have been at least fifty tea light candles illuminating the room and Santana had no idea where they had come from. If she wasn't pissed at Brittany and Brittany didn't have a boyfriend it might have actually been romantic despite the room being run down. It was then that Santana's heart slowed and she realised Brittany wasn't actually in the room. She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked around, this wasn't exactly how she had wanted to spend her night.

Looking over she saw the candy bars, chips and water sitting on the table and she knew that Brittany had gone out and got them for her. She had to admit she was grateful to at least have something to eat. With everything that had been going on her hunger hadn't really been present. If there was light and food the only question left was where the hell was Brittany and what the hell was she doing. Walking towards the window she peered thru the closed curtain and could barely make out movement from inside Brittany's truck.

Sighing Santana walked into the washroom and changed back into her wet dress. No matter how pissed and upset she was at Brittany right now, she wasn't about to let the girl sleep in her truck. The rational side of her knew that had Brittany not come along she'd still be stuck in her own car on the side of the road. Opening the door she rushed over to the truck and knocked of the window making Brittany jump. Santana backed away from the door as Brittany went to open it.

"What are you doing out here? Did you not hear me when I said I promised your parents to keep you safe?" Brittany asked a little annoyed as she stepped out of the truck. The rain coming down harder now than it had been before Santana's shower. "I'm telling you, you're going to get sick." Brittany was thankful for the rain because it meant Santana couldn't see the tears falling from her eyes, something she didn't want Santana to notice at all.

"Why are you in the truck?" Santana both hands on her hips and she didn't look like she was in the mood for any sort of run around.

"I wanted to give you your space. I got the room for you."

Santana shook her head as she watched Brittany put her head down before looking back up at her. Instinct took over her then as she could faintly see the look in the girls eyes from the light in the truck. Without thinking Santana stepped forward and put all her weight into Brittany making the girl push her back against the truck. Both Santana's hands came up and cupped Brittany's cheek as she covered the girls lips with her own. She kissed her hard, and fast, putting as much passion, both anger and admiration, into the kiss. She wanted Brittany to feel how she had been feeling, she wanted her to know that she really screwed up and Santana Lopez wasn't someone you wanted to lose. The rain spilled down over them, cheeks were soaked and water running over their closed eyes.

Before Brittany could really register what was going on Santana pulled away. "You're not sleeping in there." Not wanting to argue anymore, still stunned from what had just happened Brittany followed Santana back inside.

"You're shivering." Brittany noticed as she walked in behind Santana and closed the door.

"I know, question is why aren't you?" As mad as she was Brittany's state didn't go unnoticed and she was just as amazed as she always was by how beautiful Brittany looked no matter what.

The blonde shrugged and went into the washroom to grab a towel. "Used to the rain, yours isn't which is why you should really get dry you're going to get sick Santana. That's too beautiful a dress to ruin."

"Whatever." She huffed as she went back into the washroom to change out of her dress.

Brittany looked down at the bag of clothes and decided to use the time to change and get dry. She wasn't sure how long Santana would be changing so she made sure to change as quickly as she could. Lucky she did because just as she was pulling her shirt down Santana stepped out of the washroom. She didn't speak a word as she walked over to the bed and grabbed a pillow before moving over to the desk chair. Setting the pillow down on the desk she hunched over in the chair and rested her head against it.

Santana sat down on the bed and leaned against the headboard as she pulled the blankets up around her. Brittany had been right, her body really wasn't used to the abuse she had just taken from the rain. She was freezing, and it was as though the water had seeped into her bones. Looking over at the blonde laying awkwardly in the chair her heart sank a little more. The Santana from L.A. would have left her to sleep there without batting an eyelash and being upset about it but this was Brittany and she wasn't in L.A. anymore.

"You can sleep over here, I promise not to kill you in your sleep."

Brittany looked up and was shocked that Santana had spoken to her. "What?"

"We can share the bed, you did pay for the room and all."

Nodding Brittany stood up and grabbed the pillow off the desk. She sat down on the bed, and stayed as far over as possible, she didn't want to push her luck. Finally looking over at Santana she noticed the girl was still shivering. "If I try and warm you up will you try and hit me?"

"That's a definite possibility." Her anger started to rise again, there was something about Brittany trying to be nice that just pissed her off. She knew the girl had a heart of gold but that didn't mean she didn't make mistakes. The last thing Santana ever wanted to be to Brittany was a mistake. "Don't worry in four months I'll be out of here. You and you're boyfriend can go on as if I was never in your life."

She was tired, she was cranky and although she believed wholly in southern hospitality she wasn't going to keep playing these games. There was a side of Brittany that Santana didn't know, a side that would give even the Latina a run for her money. "He's not my boyfriend so why do you keep saying that. He's my ex and after tonight that's finally clear to him. I don't want you gone in four months Santana, I've been dreading it since you told me about your master plan. You think you have it all figured out but you have no idea." She was standing up and pacing the room now, unable to maintain seated as her heart started to pump faster and faster. Her cheeks turning red, fingers curled into fists.

"I know what I saw Brittany." Santana nearly yelled as she too stood up. "We were supposed to go opening night but the minute you're boy toy came back you forgot all about me. What was I, just some summer fling while you're boyfriend was gone? You know what, I don't even want to know, I'm going to bed, the sooner I sleep the sooner I'll be away from you." She walked back to bed and crawled under the covers. That would normally be the end of it but not now and not with Brittany. The blonde's face fell when the other girls words sunk in. "Oh and one other thing," Santana said as she sat up, "you should have just told me you didn't want to go with me instead of lying about it." She laid back down and buried her face in the pillow.

"It's all just messed up Santana, Artie and I are over."

"Yeah well it didn't look that way tonight or the other day."

Brittany sat down on the bed confused. "What do you mean the other day?"

"I saw you putting whip crème on his damn nose from our frappacino." Her eyes were starting to feel heavy and the weeks events along with the storm that was tonight, literally and figuratively, had taken its toll on her.

"Fuck." Brittany cursed under her breath and Santana was glad her face was in the pillow because a small, very small, smile appeared. Hearing Brittany curse was more cute than it was anything else. "He's one of my best friends Santana, the breakup hasn't been easy and you were never a summer fling. We weren't even supposed to go to the fair tonight he wanted to meet up to exchange all our stuff, we broke up before he left for his vacation and never got the chance to do that before. The coffee shop was us being friends, I'm a flirt you know that and he still means a lot to me. We were just goofing off, I've known him a long time but you have to believe that you weren't some fling, someone I was using because I was bored. You could very well be the realist thing to ever come into my life." She paused and took a deep breath, having a hard time to find the words that she needed. "Kissing you the other night was amazing, and even though the circumstances are a train wreck you kissing me tonight was nothing short of magical. I promise if you let me I will make all this up to you. I don't know what's going on with us but what I do know is that I don't want us to change. I love how we are, how easy it is for me to be around you."

After a few moments of waiting for a response Brittany watched as Santana's head turned over on the pillow. "You've got to be kidding me, you seriously fell asleep on me." She let out a soft chuckle before laying down and reaching over to bring Santana closer. The girl was still cold and the last thing Brittany wanted was for Santana to suffer more than she had too. Sure the girl hadn't wanted this when she was awake but for the time being she wasn't and Brittany was going to take complete advantage of that. She held the girl as close as possible, gently running her fingers thru dark hair. As she laid there she could only hope that what they had spent a summer building didn't fall apart because Artie came back.

When Santana woke up she felt something warm beneath her, she could hear a heart beating ever so slightly in her ear. Slowly opening her eyes the nights events flooded back, looking up she realised she was laying on Brittany's chest, their arms wrapped around one another. The rain was still coming down hard when she made her way to the washroom, being careful not to wake the blonde. When she walked back into the room Santana checked her phone to see what time it was. _4:17. _She checked the phone that sat on the bedside table, but didn't even get a dial tone, the power and phone lines were still out.

Sighing she climbed back into bed and under the covers. She didn't move back to her previous position, instead she stayed on her side of the bed laying on her side facing away from Brittany. She had hoped this was some sort of nightmare but she knew now that it wasn't. All she wanted to do was curl up and go back to sleep and hope that when she woke up later, something changed.

"What next?" Santana asked as she watched Brittany put their still damp clothes into a bag.

"The rain has slowed down so we can drive home. I'll get your car taken car of since I'm sure you don't even know where it is."

Talking about it now made Santana realise she never knew why Brittany was out driving. "Why were you out there last night? Stalking me now because you're boyfriend isn't enough?"

Brittany was too tired to fight and she didn't have the energy to have the same conversation open again. "After I saw you leave the fair I knew that you were pissed and that I hurt you."

"So you were following me?" Santana folded her arms across her chest and squinted her eyes slightly.

"No, I was driving to clear my head, to figure out how to fix it all. Finding you was complete fate."

Santana snorted, unable to contain herself. "Fate, are you kidding me? This isn't some romantic comedy fairytale, and you aren't really prince charming. Whatever let's just blow this popsicle stand before I get rabies.

"I'll go start the truck."

The ride home had been a silent one, neither girl spoke, the music that came from the stereo was soft but neither girl was listening to it. Brittany focused on driving and Santana focused on anything but Brittany. The last time she had been in Brittany's truck they were having an amazing night. Finally Santana realised she was home as the truck came to a stop. Without skipping a beat she grabbed her belongings and went to push the door open before Brittany stopped her. "Wait." She turned around with an annoyed look. "Why'd you kiss me last night?"

Santana turned back around and this time pushed the door open. "Think of it as goodbye."

"It's not goodbye, it's just the beginning, keep that in mind. He's not my boyfriend Santana and by the time the last day of fair comes around I'll make sure you believe that. The next time we kiss, it's going to be because we had another amazing night, and we will kiss again."


	9. Chapter 9  Sparks Fly

**A/N: My gosh! Thank you all so very much for the reviews I really can't say that enough. It means a great deal that you like this story enough to take the time to leave some feedback, favourite the story etc etc. Finally back from my mini vacation and figured you all have waited long enough. First Taylor song of the fic! I'm a huge Taylor fan and so I'm surprised this is the first time I'm using one of her songs but it won't be the last. Hope you all enjoy the chapter. Cheers. **

Chapter 9 - Sparks Fly (Taylor Swift)

"What did you say to Santana about Artie and I?" Brittany asked Mercedes after dance class. Santana hadn't come to class and Brittany knew that going to class was the best part of the girls week. She also realised that there were only a handful of people that could have told Santana about her dating Artie.

"I told her that you two were dating, you are aren't you? I was surprised you hadn't told her since you two seemed like you were getting close."

Brittany cast her look downwards. "Yeah were, she's not talking to me. We were getting close, so close that I kissed her."

"Hold on." Mercedes held up a finger and closed her eyes trying to process what the blonde had just told her. "Since when are you and Artie not dating and you kissed Santana?"

"Since school ended, he was being a jerk and he called me stupid. I didn't feel the spark anymore and yes I kissed Santana."

"Why didn't you tell me or anyone?"

Brittany shrugged. "I didn't want to do that to Artie and I didn't know what was going to happen after the summer. Then Santana moved here and she's just," she paused for a moment to think of the right word, "breath-taking."

"I knew it, I knew that look in your eyes but I couldn't figure it out. Britt I am so sorry, I'll talk to Santana for you."

Brittany shook her head as she picked up her bag. "It's my fault, I should have told her everything. Phase 1 of clean-up-my-mess is getting her to talk to me, phase 2 is getting her to talk to me before the last day of the fair."

"So that's why she was so upset when you she saw you at the fair the other night." It wasn't a question but a statement. "Whatever you need just let me know and I'll help. You coming?" Mercedes asked as she headed towards the door thinking Brittany had been right behind her.

"No, I think I'm going to stay here a while and dance it out." Mercedes nodded as Brittany put down her bag. She walked over to the cd player and changed the disc, there was no need for her to go home because right now she wasn't going home to the person she wanted too.

She had spent more time away from Santana than she wanted too. Every time she attempted to talk to her neighbour the girl would ignore her. She understood why though she may not have agreed with it she knew she should have just been honest. More than that she should have taken Santana to the fair that night like she had wanted to. Never did she want to make the girl feel as though she didn't matter and she had a feeling that that was what she had done. Turning the music on she let it course thru her veins, it was the only thing that could drown out her thoughts of Santana.

**Santana's House - Two Days Later **

Being the social butterflies that they were Santana's parents that it'd be a good idea to invite the Pierce family over for dinner. Santana figured it was some evil joke being played on her by the entire universe. Except the last thing she wanted was for her parents or Brittany's to know why the two girls hadn't been talking. Both sets of parents figured the girls had simply gotten into a typical teenage argument and figured that they would work it out on their own. What they also knew was that both girls were incredibly stubborn. What Santana didn't know was that her parents and had set this up for one reason, to force to the two to at least be in the same room.

"Hi Karen, where's Brittany?" Santana's mom asked as she opened the front door.

"Hi, she got held up across town and probably won't be able to make it, I hope that's okay. I know you wanted to get the girls to finally talk."

"Of course, come on in." She moved aside and let the couple in. "Dinner should be ready shortly."

Gary smiled and held up the bottle in his hand. "Hope you like red wine." Both women's eyes lit up and smiles crept over their features.

"That will go perfect with dinner."

When Santana walked into the dining room she noticed that the Pierce family was one member short. "Where's Brittany?" She asked after hugging Karen and waving hello to Gary.

"She got held up, she apologized for not being able to make it."

Without realised it Santana let out the breath she had been holding before she entered the room. "Not a big deal."

"You're parents just told me that they're going away for a few days, if you need anything at all please just let us know. You know we love having you over so if you need a home cooked meal or some company you are more than welcome anytime." Karen said with a bright smile that reminded Santana of Brittany. It was almost haunting to see that smile now. It made her heart ache with want and need, something she knew she couldn't have. She politely smiled back before looking back down at her food. "Thank you, but actually I can cook."

"Yes, Santana made dinner tonight." Her father said with a proud smile as Mr. Pierce's eyes widened.

"You, made this?" He asked looking from his plate of lasagne to Santana. The girl nodded with a big smile. "It's delicious."

"Thanks." She smiles and finishes eating before excusing herself. It wasn't that she didn't like the company of her parents but she figured it was best to leave them to talk about whatever it was adults liked to talk about. That and she needed to find something to do on a Friday night.

Walking into her room it was as though someone had read her mind because her phone lit up. Picking it up off her nightstand she saw that it was Mercedes and was only thankful that it wasn't Brittany. She wasn't sure how much longer she could avoid the girls calls and texts before caving and at least listening to what Brittany had to say.

Here's the thing, before she dated Puck she dated a guy, David Karovsky. He wasn't the best looking guy in the world but he had been raised well. She was never in love with him but they dated for a long time, and at the time she thought she had been in love. It wasn't until they broke up and her head was cleared of all the praise and gifts that he gave her that she realised she had never been in love with him but with the idea that someone loved her. She's always been the girl that takes care of herself, its nothing again her parents but that's just who she was. She didn't need help from anyone, she didn't need to be in a relationship (though she typically found herself in one). She was strong and stubborn but she was also loyal to a fault. It was that loyalty that had led to her first heart break. Quinn and Puck had told her that Karovsky was cheating on her with another girl on the squad but she didn't want to hear it, she trusted him. It was that trust that put a riff in her and Quinn's friendship. Looking back on it she knew Quinn was being a great best friend and that was one reason why now she respected Quinn's opinion. The girl had always looked out for her.

As it turned out he was cheating on her, and not only with one person but with a whole slew of girls. There's more to it than that but the underlying story is that she was made the fool and she vowed to herself that no one would ever make her feel that way again.

Snapping out of her thoughts she quickly pressed the answer button on her phone. "Hey girl what's poppin' tonight?"

"Sorry I know you're having dinner with your family but there's a party going on at Ricky's. I think you met Ricky before and well I sort of need your help, think you could stop by? I wouldn't call if it wasn't important."

Santana wondered what Mercedes could need and she figured it had something to do with a boy. Santana never shied away from being a matchmaker so she told the other girl to text her the directions and she'd be there in twenty.

The minute she walked in the door of the party she was being checked out by guys that she'd never seen before. She had to admit they were good looking but she was far from interested. Thankfully Tina and Mercedes were by her side before she really had the chance to decline. They pulled her upstairs where the music was lessened to a soft hum instead of the deafening level it was at downstairs.

"What's going on, is everything okay? I didn't get hit on by the guy you like did I because I will go down there and straighten him out." Even in her black sequin dress Santana managed to be fierce.

"Guy, what guy? No I wasn't even paying attention to who was down there." Mercedes started before Tina cut in.

"We've got way bigger problems." She pulled Santana over to the window and pulled the curtain back so the girl could see outside. Brittany had a beer in one hand and what she figured was a mixed drink in a red plastic cup in the other as she danced around the fire.

Santana shrugged and looked between both girls as if she ask what the problem was. Mercedes motioned for her to sit down on the bed next to her. "Britt used to be the party girl, it wasn't until last year that she settled down and focused herself. It's not our story to tell you but basically she was the person she is now, bubbly, fun and sweet but home girl couldn't be tamed."

"She still drinks and has a good time but it hasn't been on that level in awhile and tonight she just kinda went crazy. It's not like her anymore, to be honest I don't know how she ended up getting drunk to begin with because when she got here it was the last place she wanted to be."

Santana shook her head and tried to process what was going on. "Who did she come with?" Mercedes and Tina shared and awkward look and Santana knew exactly who she had shown up with. "Why didn't you get him to do damage control then? I'm not her bodyguard, I'm not even sure if we're friends right now."

"They're not together, Britt just dropped him off and he convinced her to stay for a minute to say hi to his brother and cousin. I thought they were together but I was so wrong and I'm sorry."

Santana watched as embarrassment and guilt washed over Mercedes features. "It's fine Mercedes it's not your fault, if you hadn't told me someone else would have." Standing up Santana pulled down her dress and walked over to the window. Leaning against the window frame she watched Brittany dance around. The part of her that wasn't being a bitch knew she had to do the right thing. Brittany had, after all, saved her from spending a night in her car so she figured she could at least suck up her pride and return the favour. "I'll take her home, I highly doubt she'll remember any of tonight by tomorrow morning anyways."

"You're a great friend Santana." Tina smiled as she got up and gave her hug. "We're all very blessed to have you in our lives."

Mercedes nodded. "Mhmm, but God definitely laid a hand with you two." She nodded towards the window and without meaning to Santana let a smile slip out.

Making her way downstairs she squeezed through the crowd of people that lined the walls. After at least five minutes she made her way outside, glad to be away from the sweaty bodies. It didn't take long for her to spot Brittany who had made her way over to Artie's lap. Looking at them with in a new light she could tell that it was Artie who really wanted the contact not Brittany. She was sitting gingerly on her lap, hands in her lap holding only whatever was in the red cup. Santana had seen Brittany be more intimate with a pencil than she was acting with Artie.

"Come on, let's go. I'm taking you home Brittany." Brittany looked up at Santana who had both hands on her hips.

"Sorry who is you? Shawty back up off this."

Santana's eyes went wide with disbelief, attempting to figure out if she had really just heard what she thought she had. Yep, she definitely heard it.

She raised her finger and gave a quick point at Artie. "For one, your white so don'ts be talkin' like you ain't because I will fuck you up. Two, I don't need to back up off anything, especially not this." She motioned around before bringing her attention back to Brittany. "Three, you're lucky you is in a wheel chair and that I'm feeling gracious tonight because otherwise your ass would be in that pool over there. Not to sure how you'd fair swimming." She reached her hand out to Brittany who took it without thinking twice about it. She helped the girl steady herself as she took the red cup out of her hand and smelt it.

"What are you doing here, you're mad at me."

Santana nodded before dumping out the rest of the drink. "Yeah I am, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let people walk all over you and get you drunk."

Brittany wrapped an arm around Santana's shoulder, waving her other hand. "I'm not drunk I've had like one class of orange juice and some fruit punch."

It was then that everything seemed to click into place for Santana and before she knew what she was really doing she was lunging for Artie. Luckily for him Mercedes and Tina had found their way over to the girl and caught her just in time to hold her back. "Let me at this creep!" She yelled as she struggled to break free from the two girls grasps, a long string of expletives and Spanish left the Latina's mouth. If Brittany hadn't been drunk she probably would have found it incredibly hot and sweet that Santana was sticking up for her like this. Never had they seen the crazy side of Santana Lopez, but boy were they getting a good show now.

"Come on, Santana chill!" Tina tried to reason with her but it was no use.

"He spiked her damn drink. He knows how much she loves orange juice and he spiked her drink." By now everyone that was outside was starring at the spectacle that was Santana telling off Artie.

"It's not worth it, just take Britt home." Mercedes said as she eased her grip on the girls waist.

Finding either courage or stupidity the boy finally spoke. "I can bring Britt home, I got her here."

"Wrong! She got you here, don't think I didn't see her car outside, but they're right you're not worth it."

A half hour later Santana pulled her car into the Pierce's driveway. She opted to leave Brittany's truck at the party, figuring they could come up with some sort of a good excuse as to why Brittany didn't drive herself home in the morning. Getting Brittany out of the car was a bit of a struggle, Santana had never seen Brittany this uncoordinated before. Thankfully Brittany was still somewhat lucid and told her to use the back door since her parents room was closer to the front door.

She led them both towards the back of the house, everything was quite, there were no lights on and no one around for what seemed like miles. Everything was still and silent, just the way Santana liked it right now. "Lightning bugs!" Brittany exclaimed as she started running out into the yard.

Santana followed her quickly and she couldn't help but laugh slightly at Brittany trying to catch the bugs. "I see sparks fly whenever you smile." Brittany said as Santana finally caught up to her.

"That's just the bugs Britt, come on, let's get you too bed."

After twenty minutes of walking, practically holding up the blonde Santana managed to quietly sneak them into the house and get Brittany into bed. She helped the girl change and tucked her in before going to get the small trash bin that was in the washroom. While she was in there she grabbed a cloth, dampening in with cool water. She looked up at saw Brittany smile at her while mumbling something. "What'd you say?" She asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed, gently placing the cloth on Brittany's forehead.

"Nothing." The girl managed to mumble out. Not wanting to argue with a drunk person Santana got up to head downstairs. "Please don't go, don't leave me, please just stay for at least the night. I miss you." Brittany reached her arm out but Santana was already too far away.

"I'm just going downstairs to get you a bottle of water and some advil, I'll be right back, just rest."

That was exactly what Brittany did, until Santana got back. Sitting back down on the edge of the bed Santana helped Brittany sit up and to take the advil before helping her lay back down. Only this time she took Santana with her. Rolling them over so that Santana was on her back, Brittany's arm draped over Santana's waist. She was still in her dress and she thanked the heavens that it was too short. Instinctively she pulled the covers up over them and ran her fingers gently thru Brittany's blonde locks.

When Brittany woke up in the morning it was too an empty bed, half drank bottle of water and a killer migraine. Just as Santana had figured the night before was somewhat fuzzy. She remembered something to do with Santana but her bed didn't look like she had shared it so she assumed she had been dreaming about Santana taking care of her. Slowly she made her way to the washroom to brush her teeth and freshen up before throwing on a hoodie and crawling back into bed. Except this time she laid down on the other side of her bed, the side Santana normally slept on when she slept over and it hit her. That smell, so intoxicating and breath taking, the perfect scent. It made her heart race and butterflies fly up in her stomach, Santana had taken care of her. She smelled her pillow again just to double check, yeah Santana had most definitely been there.

Meanwhile across the street Santana woke up after only getting about three hours of sleep. She had stayed with Brittany until she was sure the girl was asleep and wasn't going to be sick. She hoped that her neighbour didn't remember much from the night before, it would make things easier.

She went thru her normal routine, brushing her teeth and turning the music on. She grabbed her laptop and checked her email. Nothing important. Being bored and not ready to eat breakfast she decided to check her facebook.

_Brittany S. Pierce._

"_You captivate me baby, like a firework show." xoxo _

**A half hour ago. **

Her heart stopped and she felt the blood rushing to her head. Was Brittany talking about her, or was she talking about someone else. Reaching over she grabbed her phone and didn't see any text messages but now that she thought about it didn't sort of sound like what she heard Brittany mumble the night before.

Four days had passed since the party and Santana was busy getting herself ready for school. Before she knew it her parents were home from their trip and everything seemed normal. Normal except she still wasn't talking to Brittany, she just couldn't bring herself to face the girl though she knew she had too sooner or later.

It was late, her parents were already in bed. Santana was curled up on the cushioned bench of her bay window when she heard something tap the glass. She let it go too consumed with the book she was reading to car about anything else. Then she heard it again, and again. Huffing she looked up and saw Brittany standing outside, a handful of small rocks in her hand. It was now or never and she really wanted to get back to her book.

As she stood on her balcony looking down at Brittany she felt small droplets of rain start to fall. "What do you want Brittany, I'm busy." The tone she had used the other night when the girl was drunk was gone and she was back to being completely stubborn, bitchy Santana.

"Please come down, I need to talk to you and you won't answer my calls or texts."

"Because I don't want to talk, we have nothing to talk about." Santana huffed, trying to sound as bitchy as possible even though her resolve was growing weak.

Looking down Brittany kicked at the grass. "Please, I promise not to be long." When she looked back up Santana could see the sincerity in her eyes, even in the dim light of the back porch.

Giving in she made her way over to the ladder that was leaning against her balcony, carefully making her way down. She had a pair of PINK sweatpants on and an Abercrombie tank top, her hair was up, glasses on but she didn't care she wasn't in the impressing mood.

"You look really good." It was a soft and sincere compliment, and with the way Brittany had spoken it Santana knew the girl was being shy.

"What is it you want to talk about at 2 am Brittany?"

Brittany looked down at the grass then back of up at Santana. "I know I screwed up, I know I should have told but I swear nothing is going on between he and I."

"You've said that before, get on with it Brittan." The rain was starting to fall a little steadier now, but nothing compared to the night they spent in the motel room. "Seriously what the fuck is with the rain." Santana huffed, crossing her arms to try and keep warm.

"Thank you, for the other night. You didn't have to do that, you didn't have to take care of me. I hurt you and I didn't deserve that so thank you. I don't remember much of that night, barely anything but I know you were there."

Santana rolled her eyes, bringing a hand up to brush the hair out of her face that had fallen out of her pony tail. "If you don't remember much how do you remember that?" She waited for the girls answer but it didn't come. "Why are you blushing, can you please just tell me so I can get out of the rain and…"

She was cut off by soft lips pressed firmly against her own. A gentle hand reaching up to cup her cheek. The rain falling slightly, just enough to be an irritant but not drench them. She didn't want to give in but her body had other plans. Brittany pulled back slightly, leaning their foreheads together. "I talked to Quinn she told me what happened and I swear that is not what happened, I would never do that to you. I don't really know what it is we're doing or were doing but I know this. I know that I see sparks fly whenever you're around." Their lips were together once again but this time Santana relented and kissed back, it may have only been their third kiss but Santana was pretty sure it was on of the best kisses she had ever had.

Brittany parted her lips and kissed Santana's top lip and she gently stroked the shorter girls cheek with her thumb. Santana reached up and wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck, deepening the kiss as she brought Brittany down closer to her. The kiss wasn't a fix it all, but something about seeing Brittany so vulnerable made Santana want to give the other girl another chance, even if it meant possibly getting hurt.

Her body gave in completely as she relaxed into the kiss. She barely ran the tip of her tongue over Brittany's bottom lip, asking for entrance which she was immediately granted. She softly stroked her tongue against Brittany's and she could have sworn she heard a slight moan leave one of their lips, who's she not sure. What she was sure of was that Brittany tasted good and she was a damn good kisser. Finally after what seemed like forever the two girls broke apart, rain still falling over them. "You gave me my romantic kiss in the rain." She whispered in Brittany's ear as she hugged the girl closely, standing on her tippy toes.

"I told you I'd be your princess charming and if you'd let me I'd really like to take you to the fair."

Santana wanted to say yes, she really did, especially after that kiss but now that the kiss had ended and her body had stopped buzzing with adrenalin her mind picked up where it had left off. "I'll think about it." It didn't come out mean or bitchy but honest and sincere, it was the best she had.

Nodding Brittany gave Santana's forehead one final peck before she let go of the girl. "I should let ya get back to what ya were doin' before I interrupted." There it was, the thicker accent and instantly Santana knew how nervous Brittany really was. "I hope your answer is yes but I won't pressure you, I'll give you your space. I'm sorry I just really had to kiss you again, I had to let you know that it was real. Have a good night and sleep well San." Santana stood still unsure of what she wanted to say.


	10. Chapter 10  Fearless Part 1

Chapter 10 - Fearless (Taylor Swift) - Part 1

Brittany was walking away by the time Santana finally found her voice again. "I really will think about it." It was all she could think to say. The blonde turned around with a questioning look. "I know I just said that but I want you to know that I mean it."

Brittany nodded. "Do you need help getting back up?" She asked politely, trying not to let her disappointment show.

"I should be alright, thanks though." The blonde turned to leave again when Santana saw a lightning bug. "Do you want to go sit out on the hammock?" Santana knew Brittany loved the hammock and was only surprised that the Pierce family didn't have one of their own.

It may have been dark but Santana could see the smile on Brittany's face. It wasn't the biggest of smiles but it was so genuine and real. As Brittany walked back towards her she felt her heart speed up as it always did when she was in the same room with the girl. No words were spoken as they walked further into the Lopez backyard, going around the pool and patio furniture. The yard wasn't as big as Brittany's but it was still a fair size and the hammock happened to be almost all the way back.

Santana reached the hammock first and laid down grabbing the blanket that she had left there earlier. Brittany sat down on the edge and stayed a safe distance from Santana, not wanting to push her luck. Neither spoke for the longest time until Santana noticed Brittany shiver. "Come here." She lifted the blanket so Brittany could get under but the girl hesitated. "It's not like we haven't shared a blanket before, come on you're cold. Unless you'd rather just go home?" Brittany shook her head no before quickly slipping under the blanket.

Santana wasn't sure what they were doing right now but she did know that she had missed Brittany. As much as she could say she was friends with Mercedes and Tina it was Brittany who had made this place feel somewhat like home. Though she wasn't sure why because most of her still wanted to catch the first flight back to L.A. Brittany managed to keep the rest of her grounded. "Thanks again for the other night, you know for getting me home and all that. Guess you're becoming my knight in shining armour."

Santana stayed silent for a few moments unsure of what she wanted to say. "Just because I'm mad at you, was mad at you doesn't mean that I don't care about you. You can't just suddenly stop caring about someone. Besides I owed you for not letting me sleep in my car."

"So that's all it was then, repayment?" Brittany had clearly missed the first part of what Santana had said.

"You really are blonde aren't you? Go catch some lightning bugs."

Brittany looked at her with a confused expression. "How do you know about my liking of lightning bugs?" Santana gave her a look and it was as if the lightning bugs went off in her head. "Oh no, what did I do?"

"You're a cute drunk you know? Running around chasing lightning bugs like you were five again." Even in the dark Santana could see Brittany's cheeks turn a shade of red. "Like I said, lucky you're pretty cute." She reached a hand out of the blanket and tapped the tip of Brittany's nose.

"Are you flirting with me Santana Lopez?"

Santana shrugged. "Guess you'll never know."

Without warning Brittany moved a little closer and wrapped her arms around Santana, causing the hammock to sway. After a minute Santana realised that Brittany wasn't going to let go and despite trying to keep up a tough act she knew it was crumbling. She wrapped her arms back around the other girl and let her hold her close. The butterflies once again started up in her stomach along with a warm fuzzy feeling that she didn't know even existed outside of movies.

After another minute Brittany pulled away and looked at Santana. "Sorry, I know I probably shouldn't have done that but I couldn't help it."

"It's fine Britt, just a hug but I should probably head to bed, I'm dead tired." Brittany nodded and stood up reaching her hand out to help Santana.

"Thanks, for at least thinking about giving me another chance. No matter what though I promise to be your friend."

Santana couldn't help but smile at the admission. More than anything she didn't want to lose Brittany as a friend. "Likewise."

"She said likewise?" Quinn asked and Brittany could tell even over the phone that Quinn wasn't pleased.

"Yes ma'am that's what she said." Brittany could almost see Quinn shake her head.

Huffing the other blonde wasn't sure what to do. "All I can say is that she went thru some things that left her a little bit sour. She acts tough and she is, she's as stubborn as they come, I'm sure you already know that by now. All you can do is be yourself, trust me she can't resist you."

"Really? Because I don't think that's been the case so far."

Quinn laughed. "You have no idea do you? How many ways do I have to put it B. Santana can't stop talking about you, and if I know her, which I do, she can't stop thinking about you either. She's scared and I don't blame her. New town, new friends, totally out of her comfort zone, she's not some naïve little girl, she's been hurt."

"I know you told me." Brittany's voice was soft, knowing that she had hurt Santana made hurt her ten times more.

"All I can say is that she loves cookies, you've probably noticed that by now but especially home-made cookies."

Brittany smiled. "Got it. Thanks Quinn, it means a lot."

"Anytime, I never really liked her with Puck anyways but hurt her again and you'll find that southern charm of yours down south if you catch my drift."

Brittany let our a nervous laugh. "I got it, hope to see you soon, Sam misses you like a lost puppy."

"Talk to you later B."

"Bye." Brittany hung up the phone and laid back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She knew she had to find a way to convince Santana that she could trust her.

"Brittany honey, can you do me a favour before you go out please?" Her mother asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Sure mama, what do you need?"

The older woman walked around the kitchen and put a few things into a bag. "Can you bring these back over to the Lopez's. They aren't home but Maria told me to let myself in, she said Santana is home but never hears the doorbell if she's in the backyard."

Brittany nodded. "I was going to go over there anyways, I baked Santana some cookies."

Her mother nodded. "I thought I smelt something baking early this morning." The older Pierce smiled. "Whatever it was that happened can be fixed if you're willing to fix it."

She rang the doorbell even though she wasn't expecting an answer. Looking down at her watch she figured the girl was outside since her car was parked in the driveway. She tried the door handle and smiled when it was, in face unlocked. It wasn't until she was in the kitchen that she heard the music playing. The sound of someone singing and playing the piano filled the air and for whatever reason Brittany had to find where it was coming from.

Following the sound down the hall she realised it was coming from the basement. It was the one place in the house she had never really been. There was a sort of rec room down there that her and Santana had watched a few movies in but that was the extent of it. Thinking that it could be a relative Brittany made her way outside and realised Santana wasn't laying by the pool like she'd normally be at this time. Shrugging Brittany let her curiosity get the best of her as she made her way downstairs. Getting closer to the sound she could hear the raspy voice singing and a distant place in her mind wondered if it could be Santana.

Almost as quickly as she had thought it she let it go. Figuring if Santana could sing like that she would have heard her at some point. Sure she'd heard the girl sing in the car or hum and she could carry a tune but nothing more than that. As she made her way down the hall she heard the music getting louder, and it was clear that it was someone singing. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her face as she finally saw who the stunning voice belonged too. All she could do was lean against the door frame and watch as nimble fingers played over the ivory keys of the piano. She was awestruck at the sight in front of her, Santana not only playing the piano but singing and she could definitely sing.

"I've known it from the moment that we met, no doubt in my mind where you belong." Brittany smiled and wondered if just maybe that line held any truth. She felt like she should tell the girl in front of her that she was there, the last thing she wanted to do was startle her. Instead Brittany stayed still for another minute before slowly making her way back upstairs. Grabbing a piece of paper she left a note for Santana because as much as she was sure she could stand there all day and listen to her sing she felt like she was invading the girls privacy.

Making her way upstairs Santana felt better than she had in awhile. Something about singing always gave her a little more liveliness. Making her way into the kitchen she saw her mothers Tupperware and next to it was a plate of cookies. Looking around she realised that no one else was home and she hadn't heard anyone come. Lifting the note she smiled from ear to ear. Southern charm was definitely something Brittany Pierce had, and she had a lot of it.

_You sound amazing! Can't believe you've been holding out on me. Made these this morning, just for you. No I'm not trying to poison you smart ass. _

_- Princess Charming _

Santana shook her head as she went into the kitchen for her phone. She had a text from Quinn that she quickly opened. _Give her a chance bitch face. _Rolling her eyes she tossed her phone back onto the couch. Walking back into the kitchen she poured herself a glass of milk before sitting on the counter and eating a cookie. "Mmm, talk about holding out Britt." She mumbled to herself as she had a few cookies.

A few hours later Santana was sprawled across the hammock reading under the fading light of the sun. Feeling a cool breeze she pulled the blanket up to her chin and instantly closed her eyes. All she could smell was Brittany, a sweet scent that she was positive she could never get enough of. That's when it hit her, she really didn't have a choice at all about going to the fair with Brittany because fate had spoken loud and clear the moment the two girls had met.

Throwing the blanket back she put her book down and raced towards her neighbours house. She waited after ringing the door bell but didn't get an answer. Moving around the corner she saw that Brittany's truck was in the driveway and that typically meant the girl was home. Following her gut feeling she made her way around the back of the house the way Brittany had showed her. No one was on the back deck but the lights in the kitchen were on, that too normally meant Brittany was close. That's when she heard the music coming from the pool house. She shook her head as she got closer and saw Brittany doing laps in the pool.

She stood pool side waiting for Brittany to notice her but after a few minutes Santana decided to stop waiting. Hold two fingers in her mouth she let out a loud whistle causing Brittany to finally look over at her. "Sometimes we have to be fearless and I that is what I want to do, be fearless at least when it comes to you." Brittany had pulled herself out of the pool and was now standing in front of Santana with a quizzical look on her face. "Let me rephrase that. "Yes, I'll go to the fair with you, how can I say no to my princess."

"It's a date." Brittany said as she picked her up and spun her around.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that but I miss getting to spend time with you and besides you at least owe me a cute stuffed animal." Santana said when Brittany finally put her down. She wasn't trying to dampen the girls mood she was just being honest, but somewhere she knew she had to let Brittany back in. "You can put me down now especially since I'm soaking wet."

Brittany grinned and put the girl back down. "I miss getting to spend time with you too."

"Of course you did, I'm awesome and beyond hot."

This time it was Brittany who raised her eyebrows, copying Santana's 'oh really' face. "You do look like you need to cool off a bit." Brittany said as pushed Santana into the pool before jumping back in herself.

"You are so dead." Santana laughed as she swam over to where Brittany was. "I'll have you know I was actually cold."

"Good thing I have a heated pool then isn't it." They were both now in the shallow end and Santana had Brittany cornered.

"You're lucky you're cute. Now come on lets go make me some more cookies cause those were good even though you're a little creeper listening to me sing. We'll talk about that later by the way."

"Should I be scared?" Santana nodded trying to keep a stern look on her face only for it to be wiped away when Brittany shook her head no. "You aren't so scary, you should work on that."

"I'm plenty scary, thanks very much." She answered as she moved her head a little closer to the blondes only to quickly move aside and lift herself out of the pool

Brittany turned around and looked at Santana standing with her hand on her hip. "You might not be scary but you're definitely pretty and I can't wait to take you to the fair. I mean let's face it ya'll know I'm the cutest thang around."

"You better be careful, or I may just change my mind."

The blonde pulled herself out of the pool and grabbed a towel for Santana before grabbing one for herself. "It's so a date."

"No, its not. Especially after you pushed me in the pool."

"Oh well alright then I can invite Mercedes and everyone…"

Santana cut her off. "No! It's our night out but it's not a night little miss Southern Bell."

"Fine, but one week from tonight I'll change your mind about that." Brittany winked. "Let's go get you some dry clothes. Stay over and watch a movie?" Santana nodded and followed Brittany back to the house, a part of her hoping Brittany could change her mind, the other part of her knowing that her mind was already changed.

A/N: I promise that the next chapter will be the fair, I just got a little carried away with this one and didn't want to rush the fair. Also a big thank you to **misscorylynn** for keeping me motivated to write this otherwise I'm not sure when I would have gotten to it. So this one was for her J


	11. Chapter 11 Fearless Part 2

**Chapter 11 - Fearless (Taylor Swift) - Part 2**

"I'm really glad you said yes." Brittany spoke softly over the hum of the music in her truck.

Santana looked over at her and smiled. "We'll see about that when the nights through and if I made the right decision."

"Always so feisty."

"You know it, are we almost there yet?"

Brittany laughed. "What are you five?" Shaking her head the Latina grinned from ear to ear as she held up three fingers. "You would say three wouldn't you?" Santana nodded again with a slight chuckle. "We're almost there but since you're only three I guess I'll have to hold your hand, make sure you don't run away."

"Smooth Britts, real smooth." The blonde looked over and winked as she parked her truck.

"Hold on." She said as Santana reached for the door handle. Before she knew it Brittany was opened the door for her. "In case I haven't said it tonight you look beautiful, that dress is amazing." She extended her hand which Santana gladly accepted.

"Thanks Britt you look beautiful too, and I mean really beautiful." Their eyes locked as the sun was setting behind them, its the perfect moment and Santana only wished she had brought her camera with her.

As if on cue they saw a light flash breaking them out of their staring war. Mercedes smiled as she put her camera down. "You two are so cute, about time you finally showed up."

"Hey girl." Santana smiled.

Brittany shook her head. "Back off my woman Jones."

They all broke out laughing. "I just came over to say hi, meet up with you later?" Brittany and Santana both nodded.

"So what do you want to do first?" Santana looked around and smiled before pointing over at a rollercoaster. "You really are fearless aren't you?"

Five rides and an hour later Santana's eyes lit up when she saw the cutest teddy bear ever. "It needs a home and I wants that home to be mine." She grabbed Brittany's hand and pulled her through the maze of people towards the game. "So I just put my money on the month I think it will land on?" Brittany nodded, smiling as Santana put money on both November and February, their birthday months.

Someone on the other side of the table threw the ball into the spinning wheel as Santana and Brittany looked on nervously. "October." Santana frowned but tried again, no luck.

"This game sucks." She huffed as she turned around and faced Brittany. "Come on, let's go win you a stuffed duck at the water guns, I'm at least good at that."

"You would be good with a gun." Brittany laughed as she followed Santana over to the other game.

It was then that Brittany nearly stopped dead in her tracks and stiffened. Santana looked over and noticed Brittany's reaction and before she could ask what was wrong a group of girls and few guys walked over to them. "If it isn't the North Carolina sleeze and the California bitch."

"Oh no you didn't!" Santana was about to take out her hoops and hand them to Brittany when she felt the girls hand on her wrist.

"What do you want?"

The tallest brunette girl shrugged. "Nothing, just wanted to say hello and that we can't wait to face you guys this year, it should be quite a good time. New girl, should be careful who you hang out with, the same people that you call friends were probably talking the most crap about you before you showed up. They'll stab you in the back with the blink of an eye."

Santana narrowed her eyes and Brittany was pretty sure that had her hand not still been on Santana's wrist there'd be some form of blood shed. "Yeah we'll see about that, if you ever want you face rearranged just pay me a visit, believe me it could use the work, is that a nose or a beak?"

Smirking Santana watched as the girl gingerly raised her hand to touch her nose and was quickly reassured by her friends that there was nothing wrong with it. "Later." Santana waved as they started to walk away. "You alright Brits?"

Brittany nodded. "Mhmm, you are a firecracker aren't you?"

"Mhmm, that's right girl. Come on lets go win you that duck." The smile that suddenly appeared on Brittany's face made Santana's heart flutter as she took the girls hand and intertwined their fingers.

Two hours later Brittany and Santana walked hand in hand towards 'The Polar Bear Express'. Brittany was hugging a stuffed duck to her chest that Santana had won her and she insisted that she brought it on the ride with them because she didn't want some little kid to steal it. "You just want to go on the ride because you want me on your lap," Santana said as she got in next to Brittany. The blonde just grinned and buckled them in.

Sure enough by the end of the ride after being spun forward and back Santana was practically on Brittany's lap. Both girls were killing themselves laughing as the ride stopped, both a little dizzy. Once Santana got out she put her hand out to Brittany who gladly took it, the duck still in her hand.

"Tell you what, I gotta go grab something, meet you at the ferris wheel? Mercedes and Tina just texted and said they're over that way."

Santana raised her eyebrows but recognized the 'don't question me' look on her face. "Okay, I'll meet you over there."

"I won't be long."

As Santana made her way over to the large ferris wheel that was light up with sparkling white lights she couldn't help but smile. The night couldn't be much better than it was, despite the little run in they had had earlier on. Looking up she saw Tina waving at her and she couldn't help but smile. _Maybe life here won't be so bad after all. _She chuckled slightly to herself, never in a million years expecting that she'd actually like small town North Carolina.

After ten minutes of standing around talking, Santana jumped when she felt arms wrap around her waist. "Boo!" The sweet scent of vanilla and strawberries filled the air and she smiled.

"Britt, I swear you are so lucky you smell good or you may have gotten hit."

"You couldn't hit me, I'm too cute. Come on, it's our turn, looks like I have great timing." Santana rolled her eyes as sat down on the seat as Brittany sat down next to her.

Santana looked over at Brittany who's face was a little pale. "What's wrong?"

"Not really a fan of heights but I'll be okay since you're with me." She laid her head on Santana's shoulder and took the Latina's hand in her own.

"Sometimes you are too cute for your own good. Care to tell me where you went off too?"

Brittany laughed. "Nope, you'll see eventually."

As the ride finally started to move without stopping Santana couldn't help but admire the view. The lights from the fair looked like a Christmas tree from up in the air and she couldn't help but smile. "Wait why was it so important that we come to the fair tonight."

Looking down at her watching Brittany smiled as they stopped at the very top of the ride. "Perfect timing."

"Perfect timing for…" Santana cut her self off as she heard the first firework go off. She looked incredulously at Brittany. "You timed this?" Brittany nodded. "You told me you love fireworks."

"That was weeks ago Britt."

"And since then I knew I'd have to get you up here. Come on your missing the show stop looking at me and look at it." Santana leaned over and kissed Brittany's cheek before turning her attention back to the firework show. The butterflies were erupting in her stomach every time another firework went off and she saw the smile on Brittany's face.

By the time the show was done and they were back on even ground Santana's cheeks hurt from all the smiling she had been doing. "Night's almost over so how about we grab some mini donuts."

"Sounds perfect." They said their goodbyes to their friends and walked towards the donut stand. As Brittany ordered the donuts she noticed Santana looking over at the Birthday game that was shutting down, a small pout making its way onto her face.

"Sorry you didn't get that teddy bear, there's always next year."

Santana shook her hand as Brittany handed her the small bag of donuts. "Nah, it's alright, I still got you." She winked causing Brittany to let out a loud laugh.

"Give me one of those ya lil fatty." Brittany reached over and stuck her hand in the bag. "Want to go look at the sand sculptures before we head out?"

Santana nodded as she linked her arm through Brittany's. "Did you feel that?" She asked, looking at Brittany who ate their last donut.

"Feel what?"

"I thought I felt a drop of water but I guess not." Then without warning it started to rain, and not a light sprits but a down pour.

"Ugh! Are you kidding," Brittany yelled up at the sky taking Santana's hand. "Let's get you back to the truck before your dress gets ruined."

As Brittany went to run off towards the truck she noticed that Santana was still. "Santana, let's go." She couldn't help but laugh as they took off running towards Brittany's truck. "Hurry up and get in." Brittany said as she opened the door for her but Santana stood still, rain running over her cheeks.

Without warning Santana closed the door and took both Brittany's hands in hers. "Dance with me." It wasn't a question but a statement, one Brittany wasn't going to argue with. She took let go of one of Santana's hand and rested her now free hand on the slightly shorter girls hip. As the rain came down, neither seemed to care how wet they were getting or the fact that they'd probably end up sick unless they were lucky. They twirled and dipped as the rain continued to beat down on them and it was nothing short of perfect.

"You're crazy you know that right?" Brittany said as she drove home. Looking over she saw Santana laughing in the passenger seat.

"That is something I do know, but you like it because you're just as crazy."

They fell back into an easy silence as Brittany paid attention to the road in front of them. By the time they got home the rain had stopped so Brittany walked Santana to the door without having to bust out an umbrella. They stopped on the porch in front of the door like they had so many times before but this time it felt different. Santana wondered if she should kiss Brittany but she froze, something she never did. "This was definitely a date." She whispered as she hugged Brittany.

The blonde beamed. "Yes it was, thank you for an amazing night, sweet dreams princess."

"You too." Santana smiled as she walked into her house and closed the door. Leaning her back against it she sighed. "What happened to your nerve Lopez," she scolded herself. Turning around quickly she opened the door to stop Brittany but the girl was already gone. "Damn it! I wanted my goodnight kiss." She said to no one in particular as she made her way up to her room.

She turned the light on and headed for her bathroom to change out of her dress and hang it up, hoping it wasn't ruined. She hadn't paid attention to her surroundings until she came back out in Patrick boxers and a black tank top. That's when her bed caught her eye. Sitting on her bed was the teddy bear she had wanted so badly, a note and the stuffed duck she had won for Brittany.

_I figured you may want to get your cuddle on and he was screaming your name. _

_- Princess Charming _

Santana picked up the bear and held it close to her chest. It was then that she realised she'd forgiven Brittany for what happened, there wasn't a malicious bone in that girls body and she couldn't hold what someone else did against her.

"What are you going to name them?"

Jumping slightly she turned around with a smile. Before answer she dropped the bear on the bed and ran across her room to where Brittany stood at the doors to her balcony. "Thank you."

"That's a funny name for them San." Looking up at Brittany she couldn't help but laugh at the girls genuinely confused expression.

Without waiting another moment Santana leaned in and kissed Brittany softly on the lips. Her hand reaching up to trace her thumb over Brittany's rosy pink cheek. It only took a split second for Brittany to start kissing her back.

"Mmm, you taste like mini donuts, really yummy mini donuts." Brittany smiled when they finally broke away.

"So do you." Santana winked as she walked back over to her bed and grabbed the duck, handing it back to Brittany. "I have an idea for names for them."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"I was thinking yours could be Fuzzy and mine can be Wuzzy."

Brittany laughed. "You are so cute, and so lame but I like it. Fuzzy and Wuzzy it is."

"Want to stay the night and cuddle? My parents aren't home so we won't have to worry about that and I can make us breakfast in the morning."

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Santana nodded. "Sounds awesome." Standing up the blonde got up and made her way to Santana's walk in closet pulling out her sweater and the same pair of shorts she always borrow from Santana when she slept over. She walked into the bathroom to change and when she came out she smiled at Santana curled up under the blankets in a bed full of pillows, holding Wuzzy under her arm. She pulled the covers back and crawled into bed. "So what'd you do tonight?" She asked with a huge grin on her face.

Smiling Santana turned her attention away from the tv. "Went on a date with this beautiful girl who happens to be my neighbour. Great girl she even won me the bear I wanted."

"Sounds like a keeper."

"I'm starting to think so. Wait how did you…" Santana looked into Brittany's eyes, trying to read what they were telling her, "that's where went? You went to get me this?" Brittany nodded and it wasn't long before Santana was placing feather light kissed all over her face before landing one last kiss on her lips. "That is the sweetest thing ever, thank you."

"Anything to see you smile."

Santana's phone vibrated on the table. "Sorry that's probably Quinn, I should at least send her a text before she starts calling." Brittany nodded and leaned her head back against the pillow.

_I want details! Every single last one! Her face book status is so cute! _Shaking her head Santana clicked a few buttons on her phone, finally finding what Quinn was talking about and her smile couldn't have gotten any bigger.

_Brittany S. Pierce_

"_I don't know how it gets better than this, you take my hand and drag me head first fearless."_

**About an hour ago. **

After another minute Santana laid back down against the pillows and curled into Brittany's side. All was quite until Brittany's phone went off on the nightstand. The message was from Sam and Brittany couldn't help but wonder what the boy wanted this late at night. _Geez you really know how to make the moves on a girl, I need to take notes. _

_What are you talking about? _She replied, having absolutely no clue what was going on and not really caring since Santana was in her arms. His reply was one word. _Facebook. _

Of course he couldn't just tell her, he had to make her work for it but she decided it was well worth it when she saw what she figured he was talking about.

_Santana Lopez_

"_I don't know why with you I dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless." _

**About an hour ago. **


	12. Chapter 12  Drunk On You

Chapter 12 - Drunk On You (Luke Bryan)

"You're going to Cali for a week?" Brittany pouted as Santana told her the news. She watched as the girl nodded. "That means you're going to miss the annual going back to school weekend at the beach house.

Santana frowned. "I'm sorry, it's just Quinn and I always expected to go into senior year together and we have a tradition of our own."

The blonde nodded, understanding that it couldn't be easy having to change schools your last year of high school. "I'm going to miss you."

"It's only going to be a week B." Santana smiled hoping that it would cause the same affect on Brittany. Sure enough it did. "For the record, I'll miss you too."

"Britt she'll be back before you know it." Tina said as she sat on the couch next to her friend. The girl had been down since Santana left and she knew that Santana leaving wasn't the only thing the girl was worried about.

"What if she won't, be back. What if she changes her mind and wants to stay out there?"

Tina shook her head and wrapped her arm around Brittany's shoulders. "You know what the deal is, she doesn't even get the choice until Christmas, so she's definitely coming back."

"I can't lose her too, you know what it was like after Rachel left." Brittany laid her head down on Tina's shoulder. After her best friend had moved to New York, things sort of spiralled out of control. That's when the partying started, when she started hanging around with a different crowd. A crowd that now hated her because she broke away and decided she was better than some teenager always wanting to get wasted.

"You won't, I know we all had this idea of who she was going to be but we were so wrong. I see the way she looks at you, Mercedes and I saw what she was like when she thought you and Artie were together. More than anything you're a great friend to her and that's something she told me not something I'm saying to make you feel better. Give her a little credit and let's get our party on, she would not want you sitting here like a bump on the log." Brittany smiled and wrapped her arms around her friend before they both stood up and turned the volume on the stereo as high as it could go.

When Brittany woke up Sunday morning she couldn't help but be sad. Not only was the weekend almost over and school about to start but Santana still wasn't home. She knew the girl wasn't supposed to be home for another two days but she secretly hoped that the girl would come home sooner. As she sat up and threw her feet over the edge of the bed, willing herself to get up she realised she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone else. It wasn't like her but she figured she was allowed to have some time to wallow. Not being one to mop in front of everyone else she quietly got changed and headed down to the beach. She figured it was nothing that a good run couldn't beat, at least she hoped that it would beat it.

As the day wore on Brittany's mood hadn't changed even though she tried. She hadn't talked to Santana in about a day, not a single text and the girl wasn't responding to her. She knew that she shouldn't let it affect her but she really just missed her. After lunch she walked down to the end of the dock her mind turning with memories of Santana.

_It was a blistering hot day, too hot to even lay by the pool. The only relief was a breeze that if you were lucky felt for 20 seconds before it too was washed away by the heat. Brittany wasn't sure what she wanted to do, it was too hot to bake, too hot to swim, it was even too hot to dance. She could stay in and watch movies but she was in the mood for something a little more exciting. Something that her and her friends could all do, something to bring some escape from the heat. That's when the idea dawned on her and she called Sam to fill him in on the details. He needed the pick me up, being as hung up on as he was on Quinn. Brittany might have had it bad for Santana but at least she was here and since Sam was one of her best friends she thought it was fitting to make sure he enjoyed at least a portion of his summer. _

_Walking across the street seemed to take forever, waiting for Santana to answer the door seemed to take even longer. "Lopez, hurry up its crazy hot out here." Finally Santana answered the door, her hair thrown up into a messy pony tail, wearing a pair sweat pants rolled up to the knees and a black tank top. She was holding her nails up to dry and Brittany couldn't help but smile. Santana didn't know it yet but to Brittany she was at her most beautiful when her hair was a mess and she had no make up on. It wasn't that she normally wasn't beautiful but there was something when the girl dressed down that spoke volumes to Brittany. _

"_Go put on one of those sexy lil bikini's so we can go down to the boat." She said as she moved past Santana into the house. Her charm only went so far and standing out in the heat was way past that. "I'm going to go into the living room and catch up on General Hospital, your mom and I missed it the other day." The blonde was half way to the living room when she finally heard the front door close. _

"_You and my mom watch soaps together?" Brittany smiled as Santana stood at the doorway, she nodded her response and shooed Santana away. _

_An hour later Brittany smiled as her, Tina, Mercedes and Santana sang with the top down in Santana's Mustang. When they reached the marina the boys were already there, hanging out the back of Sam's truck. "'bout time ya'll got here, let's get in the boat already it's scorchin'." _

_They spent all day on the boat, driving around, the cool breeze finally giving them some relief. Brittany was excited when she found out that Santana knew how to drive the boat, and well. Though she knew she shouldn't be too surprised, there wasn't much the girl couldn't do. They took pictures, they wake boarded, though Sam couldn't convince Santana too, even though he tried to explain it wasn't all that different from surfing. Finally after a long day of jumping into the ocean in an attempt to stay cool they brought the boat back in. _

_Sam helped Santana off the boat and when she turned around to help Brittany she laughed as the girls foot got caught on the rope causing her to fall. Santana wrapped her arms around here and smiled. "Now who's princess charming." She beamed as Brittany's cheeks went red, she was normally so composed but Santana seemed to find a way to knock her off balance. Before they knew what happened they saw a flash and looked over at Tina who had a camera in her hand. "I couldn't help it, you guys looked so cute, and the sunset behind you is amazing. I'm an artist, leave me alone." _

_Both girls laughed as Tina walked away before they turned and looked at the fading sun. "Thanks Britt." _

"_For what?" _

_Santana looked at Brittany and then back out at the ocean. "For making me feel like this place could be home." _

"Hey Britt, come on, you gonna help us start dinner?" Brittany was brought of her daze by Mike's voice walking towards her.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, be right there." She walked back up the dock and inside to the kitchen. She had promised she'd make her famous steak and chicken kabobs, although she wasn't feeling all that hungry herself. Right now all she wanted was Santana home and at this point she was pretty sure she wasn't hiding it very well.

After dinner they played a few card games but she really just wanted to go back out to the dock and resume her daydream. If Santana couldn't really be here, she could at least be here in her mind. She wasn't sure how long she'd been standing by the water, if it'd been a minute or ten when she heard the sound of someone walking down the dock. Turning around she saw Artie wheeling down the ramp. A minute later they were face to face. "Sam asked me to give it to you said it was your favourite, crown and ginger ale. Thanks for letting me come by, I know I've been a jerk and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." He looked genuinely sorry and Brittany wasn't one to hold grudges.

Taking the red Dixie cup from him she smiled, giving him a small hug. "Tell Sam thanks and no problem Artie, you're always welcome." After that she watched him rolling away, leaving her to her thoughts once more.

_Brittany and Sam had gone down to the water to try and find Sam's chap stick that he dropped leaving the girls, Mike and a few of their other friends by the fire. The moon was bright and they didn't even need to pull out their cell phones for light when they saw the chap stick laying on the sand. _

_When they walked back up the beach towards their trucks and the fire they couldn't help but wonder when the music had gotten so loud. Not that it mattered, they were out in the middle of no where, the same place Brittany had brought Santana the first night the shorter girl had met her friends. _

_Now almost three months later Brittany smiled as she watched the same girl and now their friends dance on the tailgate of her truck. Ripped short shorts and a plaid shirt, Brittany's cowboy sitting on her head, a beer in one hand. She danced to the rhythm of the song without a single care in the world. The smile on her face only making the blonde realise she wouldn't know what to do if Santana Lopez wasn't in her life. It was hard to remember a time when the girl wasn't around even though it wasn't that long ago. That and she was hot, really really hot. Sure, she often talked about how beautiful Santana is but that did not take away from the fact that she thought the Latina was the sexiest person she had ever seen. _

_Santana looked over at her, her brown eyes sparkling in the moonlight. She put her hands out, beckoning her over. Smiling Brittany made her way to her truck, Santana helped her up and her arm instantly found its way around the brunette's waist. "I'm a little drunk on you and high on summertime." Brittany sang along with the song. "Girl you make my speakers go boom boom!" They spent the rest of the night cuddling by the fire, trying to stay home in the cool breeze. _

She wasn't pleased with the volume that her party had reached. It wasn't that there was anyone around to car about the noise but it had subsequently brought her out of her day dream. She heard the faint sound of the same song from her memories playing from the house. Instead of turning around she kept looking out at the water, she didn't want her mood to ruin everyone else's night.

"Aren't you going to drink?"

Turning around she was about to tell whoever was bothering her off when her mouth dropped and she stood frozen. She wasn't sure if she was still day dreaming or if the girl standing in front of her was real. There she was, the girl of her dreams, sunglasses on, hair down naturally, white long sleeve shirt and ripped up blue jeans. The California sun treated her well, as her complexion was a little darker but only to someone who paid as much attention to her as she did.

"You…but it's not…I thought…" Brittany stumbled over her words even as Santana wrapped her arms around her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "You're letting alcohol go to waste and you aren't being the life of the party not like you sugar." Santana smiled as she kissed Brittany's shoulder. The girl was still speechless which only caused the brunette to laugh. "I know I'm home early but I had wanted to be here for this and now I wants to get my dance on with my girl."

"You're girl?"

Santana nodded. "Mhmm that's right my girl. Now come on and share that drink with me."

"You look beautiful by the way." Finally finding her words Brittany was grateful that her comment seemed to make Santana blush.

"I just got off a plane."

Brittany smile and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Breath taking, now let's go dance." Santana could only nod as she picked up the red cup from the railing of the dock. Brittany tugged her back up towards the house, a firm yet gentle grip on her hand like she wasn't going to let her go again.


	13. Chapter 13 Honey Bee

Chapter 13 - Honey Bee (Blake Shelton)

Brittany walked into the kitchen after a long run to find her mother and father sitting at the table a little to excited. She kissed both her parents heads before sitting down at the table with a bowl of cheerios. "What are you guys all excited about?" She paused and looked between as they both gave her an 'isn't it obvious' look. "Right school starts next week."

They shook their heads and laughed. "You must really like Santana, to forget what the start of school means." She sat dazed and puzzled, looking at her father like he had a hole in his head. "Where has my daughter gone?"

She saw her mother hold something up that caused Brittany to look in her direction. "Oh my God! Vols tickets! College season! How could I forget that?" Her parents were laughing now as the blonde was standing up, jumping around the kitchen table. "When?"

"Home opener on Saturday, get your bags packed girlie because we're going back to Knoxville."

"When are we leaving?" She asked excitedly as she grabbed the tickets out of her mothers hands. "Why are there six tickets? Holy cowbells how did you get such good seats."

Her parents looked at each other and laughed. "It's a secret sweet tea now go on and pack we leave today after schools done, figured we could spend some time with your aunt and uncle while we're there."

Brittany ran upstairs, almost falling as she moved so quickly. There was nothing better than college football season, except, Santana. Sitting down on her bed she remembered why she hadn't remembered the Vols game at all. Over the past couple months Santana slowly began to be the only thing she could really think about for more than five minutes. Which reminded her why she had woken up at the crack of dawn and gone for a run. The girl had been acting weird since she got back from California and Brittany wasn't sure why. A small part of her wondered if it had to do with her ex but Santana had told her that that was over and she had nothing to worry about. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little threatened by the guy, even though she had never met him he knew a Santana that she didn't. She had wanted to try and talk to her about it but that would have to wait until she got home now.

Grabbing her phone off her bed she dialled Santana's number and waited for the girl to answer as she started to pack a small suit case. "Hey sexy." Instantly a grin spread across her face.

"Hi beautiful what are you up too on this amazing morning?"

If she could hear smiles over the phone she was sure she heard Santana smile. "Nothing much, getting ready for class, how about you? You seem to be in a better mood than normal, and I didn't know that possible."

Brittany laughed as she threw her bikini into the suitcase. "My parents got football tickets so we're headed to Tennessee for the weekend, leaving after class today."

"Oh, so you're not gonna be around at all this weekend?" Brittany's heart sunk at how sad Santana was. This definitely wasn't going to help the girls mood but they hadn't missed the home opener since she was a baby.

"No, I'm sorry, I'll totally make it up to you when I get back."

They exchanged a short goodbye and 'I'll miss you's' before Brittany finally hung up the phone. She sighed, suddenly not as excited for the game as she had been before she had talked to Santana. She contemplated asking her mom if they could get an extra ticket but she was certain Santana would never want to go to a football game. Even though things had seemingly been great since Santana got back and it was nice to get to spend some more time with Quinn Brittany felt an aching in her chest that she couldn't explain. It was as though her heart knew something wasn't right and was expecting to be left numb and hollow. As she finished packing she hoped that this weekend would lighten her mood and help her relax.

Finally it was Saturday, quite possibly Brittany's favourite day of the year, well except for maybe Christmas but this came really close. The day the college football season started. From the time she was born she was wearing Tennessee orange and she was pretty sure if she bled it'd be orange. Her favourite place to be aside from the dance studio was Neyland stadium, the crowd was always electric and nothing beat getting to spend time with her family.

Driving the boat down the Tennessee river to the stadium, the tailgating, the cheering, it never ceased to put a smile on her face. Today was no different, except she felt like she was missing something, someone and that was Santana. The closer they got to the stadium the more her heart rate sped up, and in the moment as she looked out over the water she knew that the only thing that could make it better was Santana. She also knew that in that moment that she was falling in love with her neighbour, the California girl that everyone thought was going to be some Barbie had turned out to be one of the best things to ever happen to her.

The Tennessee fight song was in full swing by the time the Pierce family made their way to their seats. The blonde's excitement reached a new level as she sat down, the realisation finally hitting her that the season was really starting.

"Excuse me, do you think I could buy you a drink?"

"I'm sorry I'm seeing …Santana?" Her eyes went wide as she saw the smile on the other girls face. Without wasting another minute she picked the girl up and spun her around nearly knocking into her mother. "What are you doing here?"

Santana motioned for them to sit down in their seats and that's when Brittany noticed Mr and Mrs Lopez were sitting down too. She politely said her hello's before giving her attention back to Santana. "My cousin plays for the Vols so when our parents were talking and your parents found out they invited us along."

"You kept it a secret from me?" Santana nodded with a smile.

"It was so hard, I couldn't even look at you because I was so excited."

Brittany smiled and wrapped her arm around Santana's shoulder. "Someone is a better actress than I thought. So who's your cousin?"

Santana looked out across the field as the players were coming out. "Mychal Rivera, 81."

"That is so cool." Brittany bounced excitedly in her seat. "I didn't know you liked football."

"I love football, I'm a UCLA girl but gotta support the cuz. Your parents told us how much you love the Vols so I was wondering if you wanted to go see the inside of Neyland when this is all over?"

Brittany's mouth dropped open. "Yes, a million times yes."

"Why Tennessee why not the Tar Heels or Duke?"

Brittany laughed as her and Santana walked down the dock, still wearing their Vols gear. "I was born here, we moved to North Carolina when I was about ten. Dad got a promotion so we had to move, believe me I was not happy about it but I love it there now."

Santana smiled. "So that's why you're accent is thicker than everyone else's at times."

"Yes ma'am that would be why."

"I like it." Brittany looked at her with a questioning expression. "Your accent, it suits you."

The blonde smiled and hooked her arm under Santana's. "Our mothers want to go out tonight, want to go with them?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with going out with the parentals, it'll be fun."

Santana shook her head. "You southerners are so odd."

"But you like it."

Santana leaned over and kissed Brittany's cheek. "Yeah, I do."

"Thank you for taking me with you to see the stadium you have no idea how amazing that was. I can't wait for the day when I can go to every game and live here."

Santana grinned at how excited Brittany was. "Take it this is where you want to go to school?"

Brittany nodded. "Always been my dream, how about you? Plans past high school?"

They walked down the dock towards the boat, Santana was in deep thought over the question and Brittany was worried she had something to upset the girl. "UCLA." The blonde nodded and helped the Latina onto the boat before untying the knots. "You know I can help you with that right? I grew up by the ocean too."

"I know but that wouldn't be very nice of me. I figured it was UCLA all you ever wear is UCLA sweaters, shorts, tshirts, and if I do recall a pair of boxers."

"Yeah by the way, where are those boxers?"

Brittany shrugged as she got back onto the boat. "I have no idea, probably the same place my hoodie is."

"Touche." Santana was about to sit down when Brittany shook her head. She turned on the stereo on and went through the songs on the cd before stopping on the one she wanted. By now dusk had set in, the lights from the harbour and other boats lit up casting the perfect glo.

Without realising it Santana started to mouth the words of the song which made Brittany stare at her wide eyed and smiley. "What?"

"You know the words."

Santana grinned and moved closer to the blonde. "Of course I do, you love this song and so do I."

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's waist and pulled the girl closer to her. "If you'll be my soft and sweet, I'll be your strong and steady. You'll be my glass of wine, I'll be your shot of whiskey. You'll be my sunny day, I'll be your shade tree. You'll be my honeysuckle, I'll be your honey bee."

Santana leaned her head back slightly as they swayed to the music, smiling as Brittany's singing. "You'll be my sugar baby, I'll be your sweet ice tea." It was then that Santana realised how fitting the song was from them, since Brittany tended to call her sweet tea and in her mind she called the blonde her honey bee. Her flowing blonde hair and bubbly personality were key examples of why the girl was her honey bee.

"Coulda wrote you a line or two, baby, all I know to do is speak right from the heart." They both laughed as they finished dancing to the rest of the song before Santana spotted the ice cream stand at the end of the dock. "You want ice cream don't you?"

"It's the perfect night for it, can we go back and get some?" Brittany shook her head no causing Santana to pout.

Laughing the blonde turned the key and started the ignition. "Like I can deny you ice cream, and more importantly like I can deny myself ice cream but not right now. Right now we go for a drive a small drive." She sat down in the drivers seat and looked back to see Santana sitting behind her, the breeze making her hair fly back but what surprised her the most was the smile on the girls face. She really wasn't what she had expected when she found out her new neighbour was going to be from California, she definitely was not the stuck up girl she had prepared herself for.

"You alright back there?"

Santana laughed, stood up and moved to sit on Brittany's lap. She wrapped an arm around the blondes neck and sat sideways across her legs. "I was good, now I'm perfect. I love being on the boat, I told you that. Next time I go back home you should come with me, I think you'd like it more than you think. Maybe not the L.A. of it all but you'd like where I'm from."

"I don't think I'd last a day."

"You would."

Ten minutes Brittany stopped the boat and dropped the anchor. Santana looked at her with a questioning look which only made Brittany laugh. The sky was a dark shade of pinkish red, a perfect sunset. The two girls moved from the drivers seat to the back of the boat. "Will you be my honey bee? I know that really is so country but I figured nothing about our relationship has been anything but so why not keep a good thing going." Santana's face was unreadable, Brittany couldn't tell what she was thinking either way. "If not I understand, the thang is I just really care about you and," Santana cut her off with a soft kiss.

"Yes, I'll be your honey bee, because you're already mine."

Brittany smiled. "Really?" The other girl nodded and wrapped her arms around the blondes neck.

"Really, now I wants my ice cream so can we go get some please?"

The blonde let out a loud laugh. "Whatever you say sweet tea."

"It's cute that your dad calls you that and you call me that."

"I just can't help myself, it comes out. The first time I said it, I thought for sure you were going to slap me."

Santana shook her head. "I wouldn't slap you unless you didn't get me my ice cream then we might have a problem."

"Better get you that ice cream then, since you did get me VIP passes to see Neyland stadium."

Santana sat back down on Brittany's lap. "That's right girl gotta make my honey bee happy."

"You do."


	14. Our Song

Chapter 14 - Our Song (Taylor Swift)

**Pierce House - One Month Later **

"How's school been Santana?" Santana and Brittany were sitting in the Pierce's kitchen doing homework and talking to Mrs. Pierce. It had been a month since school had started and Santana had to admit things were different than what she was used to. For starters the building itself was a lot smaller and so too was the population. Over all she couldn't complain, the teachers had been nice and she realised that even though that was the case the curriculum was a lot more strenuous. She later learned that the school was one of the best in the state and it she understood what had made her fathers new job so appealing. Her parents were always preaching about how important it was to get a good education, that partying and skipping class were only cool when you were 16. A good job could last you the rest of your life and that's what was important.

Looking around the kitchen table, she couldn't help but smile as she watched Brittany do her homework and eating a toaster strudel. "School's been good, different but good." It was then that Brittany looked up at her and smiled before going back to school work.

"Brittany tells me you're taking all AP classes. With good grades you know you could go to practically any school you want." Santana nodded and looked out the window, the sky was beginning to darken and it was starting to get cool out at night.

"I'm working on it, UCLA is the dream." She caught Brittany's expression out of the corner of her eye and saw the girl frown. Her going to UCLA wasn't ideal for their relationship but she always promised herself that no girl and no guy would get in the way of her goals. Back home she may have been a little bit of a party girl and Puck might have been the resident bad boy but that didn't stop her from having goals and setting them high.

Her latest goal, to move back to California and get out of the small town she found herself in was still on her list, she just wasn't entirely sure that it should be. First there was Brittany, her friend and girlfriend, then there was school, the top public school in the state and it gave her the ability to go to any school she wanted. She missed home in California but slowly North Carolina was growing on her.

"That's a very good school Santana, I'm sure you will get in, especially if you set your mind too it. Anyways, I'll let you two ladies get back to your homework, Santana please say hi to your mother for me."

"Will do Mrs. Pierce." Karen gave her a stern look. "Sorry Karen."

The older Pierce started to walk out of the kitchen but stopped long enough to place a light kiss on the top of Brittany's head. "Finally, I can stop pretending to do this." Santana laughed as Brittany threw her pencil down on the table, leaning her now free arm on the table. "Want to go for a drive with me this weekend? Stay at the beach house for the night, rent some horror movies and watch cartoons."

"Only you would suggest horror movies and cartoons in one sentence." The brunette couldn't help but laugh at how cute her girlfriend was. "I'd love too." She leaned across the small distance of the table and placed a light kiss on Brittany's lips.

"One last thing before you have to go home for dinner, burning boat is Thursday night, do you want to go with me? Normally we all go together but I figured I could drive we could go for dinner and head down?"

Santana gave the blonde a questioning look. "What in the name of Taylor Swift is the burning boat?"

Brittany laughed at Santana's comment. "It's this ritual, we literally burn an old boat down at the harbour, everyone throws something in that they want to get rid of in a sense. Last year I threw in my some pictures from my partying days. Stuff you want to leave behind and move on from."

"Sounds good to me, sure I can find something but I better get home before Mama Lopez kicks my ass and my ass is too nice to be kicked." Santana stood up from the table and walked behind Brittany smiling as the girl tilted her head back. Leaning down she kissed her softly on the lips then the tip of her nose. "See you tomorrow honey bee."

"Goodnight beautiful." Brittany yelled as she heard the front door open and she knew it was going to be a good week.

**Thursday - Lopez House **

Santana was in her room getting ready for the burning boat when she heard Brittany walk up the stairs. They hadn't talked all day and the Latina was a little nervous as to how Brittany was going to react once she realised what Santana was planning on throwing into the boat. Her pom-poms. More specifically the pom-poms that Coach Roberts had given her to try and convince her to join the team. She gave a million reasons as to why she couldn't do it, loyalty to her former team and Coach Sylvester was one that she had decided to stick with the most. In all honesty she really didn't feel right cheering for a different school than the one she had spent the last three years supporting. That and Coach Sue really need scare even her, the woman was a force to be reckoned with and Santana didn't want to be the one to mess with her.

She heard the knock on the door before it slowly creaked open. "Hey, you ready to go?" Brittany smiled and moved towards her.

"Yeah, I'm ready." There was always something about the blondes smile that made her weak in the knees. It was also impossible for her not to smile when Brittany did, the way her blue eyes seemed to sparkle was all she needed on a rough day.

**Burning Boat **

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go get us some latte's." Brittany kissed her cheek before walking off towards the café. She stood by the boat watching other people throw in all the things they wanted to move on from. She was so lost in thought that she didn't realise that Mercedes was now standing beside her.

"Hey girlie, what are you throwing into the fire?"

Santana smiled. "Hey 'cedes. I was thinking about these." She pulled the pom-poms out of her bag and shook them a little.

"Your pom-poms? I thought you were some big cheerleader or something."

"Was, past tense, its not something my heart is in here. Can't bring myself to try out for a team that isn't really mine."

Mercedes shook her head. "You can at least give it a try, you never know until then." There was a long pause as she looked between her pom-poms and the boat before she threw them in.

"Really Santana, you're not even going to give it a try?" She turned around and looked at Brittany who's face she had never seen so upset. "Here, take your stupid coffee."

"What is your problem Brittany, I don't want to cheer for a school I'm not even apart of. I've explained this to you, its hard for me, why can't you understand that?"

Brittany looked from Mercedes to the boat, back to Santana. "All I can understand right now is that no matter what you'll never really call this home until you let your guard down"

Santana stood speechless as she watched Brittany's retreating form. "Come on, we'll go see the others and let her calm down." They started to walk until Mercedes stopped and looked at Santana. "You didn't hear this from me, but Britt has a thing with losing people, it's the only thing that scares her. You know about her best friend that left, they barely get to talk, her grandfather died shortly after that. I know it isn't right but try and be easy on her."

They all watched the boat burn, Santana' pom-poms along with it. She and Brittany didn't speak another word all night but that didn't stop Brittany from giving Santana her coat when she noticed the girl was cold. They drove home in silence, neither really having anything to say.

"You know what Brittany, fine, if you want to fight about something so stupid then go be mad." With that she stormed off and a few minutes later Brittany heard the screen door slam shut.

Sighing the blonde walked back to her house and went right upstairs to her room. She knew her reaction wasn't entirely fair but she couldn't help it. One of the things that had connected the two girls when they met was their love of cheerleading and Santana not even wanting to try out bothered her. It meant that she wasn't able to change the girls mind yet about going back to California.

**Two Days Later **

Santana walked up the back porch steps and opened the door and at the last moment she caught the glimpse of blue roses under her foot. Quickly moving so she didn't step on them she bent down and picked them up along with the note. Without reading it she continued to make her way upstairs, sometimes even she needed to get in a good run. It was rare that she exerted herself when she didn't have to but it was run or cry and crying wasn't something she wanted to do.

She turned on the light to her room and opened her balcony door. The fall breeze was cold but she was so hot from her run that it only seemed cool. She walked over to her desk where she had set the flowers down and picked up the note. 'Our song is the slamming screen door, staying up late tapping on your window'. She shook her head getting the reference as she shook off the smile that was fighting to appear on her face. It was hearing the rocks on her window that made her turn around and walk out onto her balcony. There she was, blonde hair down and flowing in nothing but sweat pants and a Tennessee Vols hoodie.

"I know I was out of line the other day and I am so sorry. I was hoping you still wanted to go on that drive with me tomorrow."

Santana stood, stone faced, hands on her hips, in all honesty she knew she was going to give in. She didn't know why but she couldn't stay mad at Brittany, something about the girl made her stubborn exterior wash away. Huffing she nodded, "I suppose I'll still go with you."

"Pick you up at 10?"

"Works for me, see you then Britts."

**Next Day **

"You're seriously going to let me drive your car?"

Santana nodded and tossed Brittany the keys before getting in. "Your truck isn't a comfortable and its nice out so get in so we can get this show on the road." She smiled and put on her

An hour into the trip Santana looked around and didn't recognize a single thing. "I thought we were going to the beach house?" She watched as her girlfriend flashed one of her perfect smiles. "You're not going to answer me are you?" Brittany shook her head and looked back at the road.

The radio was down so low she almost missed the start of the song as it came on the window. A laugh escaped her lips at the coincidence of it all but if she believed in one thing it was fate. Reaching down she turned up the radio as high as it would go and started bouncing around in her seat.

"Our song is the slamming door, sneaking out late tapping on your window. When we're on the phone and you talk real slow cause it's late and your mama don't know. Our song is the way you laugh, the first date man I didn't kiss her and I should have." She sang loud it enough that you could hear her over the radio.

Brittany looked over at her and laughed. "I heard every album, listen to the radio, waited for something to come along, that was as good as our song. Cause our song is the slamming screen, sneaking out late tapping on her window. When we're on the phone and she talks real slow cause its late and her mama don't know."

Another 45 minutes later Brittany pulled onto a long winding drive way and finally through the trees Santana saw a beautiful and very big house. "Where are we?"

Brittany didn't answer she just smiled and parked the car. "The only question you need to answer is One Tree Hill or The O.C marathon?"

"One Tree Hill." Brittany looked shocked as she opened the front door and led Santana in. The house was amazing with its high ceiling and elegant but not stuffy furniture. "What's with the look? Seriously who's house?"

The blonde led her down a few hallways until they reached the back of the house. Large glass windows let the sun shine in and all Santana could see was water. It was almost like being home, being able to wake up everyday and look out at the ocean. She was so mesmerized that she didn't feel Brittany walk up behind her. She felt strong arms wrap around her waist and a soft kiss on the back of her neck.

"It was my grandfathers house, when he died he left it to me. I spent a lot of time here with my cousins when I was little. It's not exactly mine yet but when I'm old enough it will be. For now, it's my getaway and I figured you'd like it so it's the perfect place to sit by the fireplace, curl up on the couch and watch t.v."

"That sounds amazing."

"And for the record its not my place to be upset over whether or not you want to cheer. I remember what it was like when I first moved here, it was hard then and I was younger, I can't imagine what it feels like to be in your shoes and I'm sorry."

Santana smiled and leaned up kissing her girlfriend. "It's okay honey bee, thank you for understanding."


	15. You Don't Know Her Like I Do

A/N: My apologies for anyone who read this chapter earlier and got confused. I realised that I forgot to add something vital to the timeline. Hope the small fix helps settle some confusion, sorry everyone.

Chapter 15: You Don't Know Her Like I Do (Brantley Gilbert)

[b] 2 Months Later [/b]

She stepped off the plane at LAX and took a deep breath. Even though it was winter and Christmas had just passed the air was relatively warm. It was cold for LA but the past few months she had spent in North Carolina had made the warmth a welcome change from the snow that was on the ground when she had got on the plane. It wasn't an easy choice, moving back to California but it was one that seemed the best. It had always been her plan and, afterall, she was good at sticking to what she wanted. She almost changed her mind, especially just before Christmas but at the end of the day California was home, where her heart was.

Picking up her luggage she made her way out to the pickup area and looked around for her best friend. Before she knew it slender arms were wrapped tightly around her, she let her suitcase stand on its own as she embraced the blonde. "It's good to have you home, come on lets go get you settled." It wasn't an overly cheery statement but one she knew was true, her best friend had missed her. Moving to North Carolina hadn't just changed her plans, it had changed their plans, but now those plans were finally back on track.

[b] Fabray Home - Santa Barbara [/b]

"Santana, Quinn was telling me that you picked up a few dance moves while you were in North Carolina. Did you know I grew in Georgia, small town outside of Atlanta, did some line dancing back in my day."

Santana couldn't help but laugh, Mrs. Fabray always put a smile on her face whether she meant to do it or not. "Couldn't quite pick up the line dancing but I'm sure if you showed me I'd pick it up a lot faster."

"It's a date then, we'll have to teach Quinny a thing or two but for now I'll let you two finish your dinner and get settled."

"Thanks Mrs. Fabray." She felt the woman's arms wrap around her and give her a hug.

"Anytime Santana, you two don't get into too much trouble now."

Later that night the girls found themselves sitting in the Fabray's backyard. Their toes in the sand as they listened to the ocean. "It's weird being back, and I've only been back for a few hours."

"You already miss her don't you?" Quinn watched Santana's expression change as the girl nodded her head. "Hopefully it'll get a little easier as the days go by and you know you could always go home."

Santana shook her head. "No, I'm not wanted there, I never was. I was fooling myself to think otherwise, I was always on the outside looking in and let's face it I'm not so good with that."

"I'm going to go make us something to eat that coach would kill us for putting into our bodies. Come in when ever you're ready, make sure you don't let yourself get sick though." With that Quinn stood up leaving Santana alone with her thoughts.

She may only have been back in California for a few hours but those few hours already seemed like a lifetime. It was crazy to her how much she already missed North Carolina, the warmth that always seemed to be around because most everyone cared for everyone else. She had a feeling that leaving North Carolina was going to be harder than when she had left California the first time. A thought she wanted to think was because this time her move wasn't with her parents but in her heart she knew that there was only one real reason why this was going to be a hard. A blonde reason with beautiful blue eyes.

[b]Wilmington - One Week Later[/b]

Brittany sat alone on her tailgate, looking at the Lopez house from her driveway. She thought about going over and talking to Santana's mom but she couldn't bring herself to get past the other side of the road. It was as though there was an imaginary line that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't cross. She felt like she was the reason Santana was gone, in her mind if things had played out differently than the girl she loved would still be right across the street and not 3000 miles away.

It was then that she heard her phone go off. Getting up off the tailgate she opened the front door, reached in and grabbed her phone. Without looking at it she held it to her ear, she knew it wasn't who she wanted it to be so no one else really mattered. "Hello… yeah I can meet ya there." She tossed the phone back onto the seat before climbing in and starting the engine.

When she got to the coffee house she saw him sitting by the window in her favourite spot. She gave him a hug before sitting down, he already had her favourite latte ordered. They were silent for a few minutes, neither knowing how to start the conversation but both knowing what the conversation was going to be about. "Thanks for calling, its good to know somebody cares. Yeah she's gone but I really don't feel like talking, its still too hard and too fresh."

"It'll stop hurting Brit, you know that. If she was just going to up and leave then maybe she isn't worth it, and I know first hand that you're worth staying anywhere for."

"Artie, I know you're trying to help but you don't know her like I do. The side of her that is so kind and forgiving, the side of her that picks up the phone at midnight because her little cousins back home want a bedtime story. Those are things you don't know about her that I do, so you better believe she's worth it. She's worth every tear, you'll never understand."

She stood up from the table, leaving her latte still untouched. She didn't look back as she walked out the door. She could hear him wheeling out behind her but she didn't slow down as she made her way to her truck. She did know that he was only trying to help but right now nothing and no one helped, certainly not an ex that never liked Santana.

Two weeks later Brittany finally figured she should pick up the phone and talk to someone. Her normally happy demeanour had been absent since Santana had left and she knew that that was no way to experience her the rest of her senior year. "Britt? You okay?"

She paused before answering. "Hey Rach, guess so." There was no noise on the other end of the line and Brittany knew Rachel was letting her compose herself. "I miss her."

"I know you do sweetie, and its going to take a lot of time. You may never stop missing her but that empty feeling will start to pass, I promise. Why do I feel like there's something you feel guilty about that you aren't telling me?"

Brittany took a moment to think about everything that had happened. "I didn't even go to the airport, I was stubborn and didn't go and I can't stop thinking that if I went then she'd still be here. I could have stopped her and I didn't." "What happened Britt, last we talked everything was great."

"She heard me talking to some people about what we thought the new girl was going to be like, ya know a bitch and all that stuff. She stormed off and when I went after her she confronted me about it, and I had to be honest. I did think she was going to be like that but obviously I know now that she isn't. That's when she told me about going back to California to rejoin the cheerio's and how Coach Sylvester already talked her parents into it. I got mad and we argued, she left and now here I am sitting around moping."

Rachel giggled softly. "Go after her Brittany, obviously if she hadn't gone back before all this she wasn't going too."

"But she said she didn't want to cheer here, when the whole time it was because she knew if she did she couldn't rejoin the Cheerio's."

"You're mad, I get that but more than anything you love her, you need to fight for her."

Brittany sighed. "How am I supposed to do that when she's so far away." "First you need to call her and talk to her, second spring break. I know you were supposed to come here but you need to go there instead, you've been New York before and I'm not going anywhere. You need to get that girl of yours back, but for now take your time and get over being angry because if you try and talk to her now we both know you'll just fight."

"I don't know Rach."

Rachel smiled on her end of the phone. "I do and besides I'm the smart one in this relationship, spring break if not sooner, we'll get you to your girl."


	16. Chapter 16  The Other Side of The Door

Chapter 16 - The Other Side Of The Door (Taylor Swift)

_Brittany walked into the coffee shop like she always did on a Thursday night, in hopes of getting her homework for the weekend done early. As she sat down at her normal table, coffee in hand she noticed a brunette walking towards her. Sugar Motta sat down across from her and smiled. The girl was on the cheer squad with her but ever since Santana had moved to town the two cheerleaders hadn't really spoken._

"_Hey Britt, got a second? Good." Brittany didn't have a chance to say otherwise before the girl started talking. "There's a rumour going around that you're girl is just here to spy on our squad for Sue Sylvester, since we got so far at Nationals last year." _

"_I don't believe that for a second." Brittany didn't bother letting herself get angry, she knew the way Sugar worked and she wasn't about to believe the girl. _

"_I think you're wrong Britt, especially since she's going back to California to be back on the Cheerio's. If yo don't believe me you should ask her yourself." _

"_I don't need to ask her because I know it isn't true. Could ya leave me alone now so I can get my homework done so I can get into this thing us smart people like to call college." _

_Sugar shrugged the jab not affecting her. "Wasn't it you that said the little California rich bitch was never going to make it and had no place here? Oh and wasn't it also you that said she was a stuck up floozy and her only talent was spending daddy's money and sleeping around?" Brittany looked down, unable to look at Sugar. "Well wasn't that what you said?" Still Brittany continued to look down. "Awfully quiet for someone was insisted she was going to ruin the girl, especially after your mom invited her to your party." _

"_Yeah B, you are quiet. Did you really say that?" Brittany turned around and looked up at Santana, tears spilling down her cheeks as she looked at her girlfriend. "Did you say all that?" It was a tone Brittany had never heard come out of Santana before, even when they were fighting. It was as cold as ice and the expression on her face was stoic. All she could do was nod. _

"_Good to know." With that Santana turned around and walked out of the coffee shop, Brittany hot on her heels leaving Sugar alone with a smile on her face. _

_Brittany finally caught up with the girl as she was unlocking her car. "Santana please wait." She reached for the girls arm but she pulled it away. _

"_Let me make this crystal clear for you. This rich bitch is done with you and you better believe that I am going back to the Cheerio's. I wasn't spying for Sue, we don't need to spy to beat your little squad. You thought I was a rich bitch, now you're just going to get the bitch side." _

"_You really are leaving?" Brittany clenched her jaw, a mix of angry and sadness washing over her. Santana raised her eyebrows slightly and shrugged her shoulders. "All this time, you knew you were just going to leave?" The brunette shrugged once again. "Answer me." _

"_One, don't think you can tell me what to do because I will go all Compton on your ass, two, I've had the option since I came back from my trip, now get out of my way." Santana opened her car door, and drove off leaving Brittany pissed off and upset. If Santana thought this fight was over she was certainly mistaken. _

_Two hours later Brittany knocked on Santana's bedroom door, the girls parents had let her in before they headed out for the night. "Go away!" Brittany tried to turn the door handle but it was locked so she kept knocking. She heard a huff before the girl got up and opened the door. "What could you possibly want." _

"_How could you do that to me? Lie to me like that?" Brittany was angry, probably the angriest Santana had ever seen her. She stood a little taller making it apparent that she was taller than the other girl. _

"_How could I do that to you? Pretty ignorant coming from the girl who was going to make my life a living hell before she even knew me, so you can take yourself and leave before I make you leave. Let me make this very clear Brittany, I never want to see you again, and I hope your little pathetic squad makes it to Nationals because my squad is going to devour you and enjoy doing it." She pushed the girl out of her room, "oh and one last thing, take your stupid sweater back." She tossed the girl her sweater before slamming the door in her face. _

_Locking the door Santana moved back to her bed and sat down, her back leaning against the bed frame. She brought her knee's up to her chest and let the tears fall. A minute later she heard the front door close and she knew that it was over. As much as she wanted Brittany to stand at her window and try and get her to talk she knew this time it was it. Part of her wanted to chase after Brittany, the part of her that knew she had hurt the other girl but hearing what Brittany had said about her killed her. Her beautiful and sweet Brittany had been the one all along that had wanted her gone when she had first moved to town. She felt stupid for believing that people really could be sweet, sincere and caring. If Brittany wasn't one of those people then she was pretty sure they didn't exist. _

**One Month Later **

Santana had her feet in the sand as her and Quinn looked out at the ocean. "That's what happened."

Quinn waited before saying anything as she looked at her best friend. "You didn't want her to leave did you? Everything you have ever wanted was on the other side of that door."

Santana looked down and ran her fingers through the sand. "A part of me wanted that but you know how I get when I'm that angry, I don't see straight."

"Have you talked to her since?" Quinn looked over as Santana shook her head no.

"I wouldn't even know what to say, I've tried to write a few emails but nothing comes out, I'm still angry and I'm still sad. She's there, I'm here so it's just time to move on, and put that behind me."

Quinn took a deep breathe. "What about when you go home to see your parents? She's your neighbour and it's a small town."

"If I don't leave the house I won't see her, no matter how much I may want to see that beautiful face I can't right now. It's been two months and it still bothers me, I feel like I could fooled and I don't like that."

The blonde wrapped an arm around her best friends shoulder. "We all make mistakes Santana, I was there that first night you guys met. I saw when she looked at you and she may have had an impression of you just like you had one of them but I'm telling you the minute she saw you it went out the window."

"That's sweet of you too say Q but right now she's no better than half the people around here, she was everything I wanted to get away from." She took a deep breath and sighed, "at least I'm back with the ocean, and you and I can finish senior year, win nationals and raise hell."

Quinn laughed. "When do we ever not raise hell? Speaking of hell," they looked at each other and smiled. "Party at Puckerman's." They said in unison before getting up and walking back to the couch.

"Since we're on the subject what's up with that?"

Santana laughed. "No we are not hooking up although he is still pretty fine but no. I'm not ready for a relationship even of that sort."

A/N: I apologize for the short chapter but I just wanted to throw this in to hopefully make things more clear. Sorry for all the confusion, I forgot to add something small but crucial to the last chapter which has now been fixed. For everyone that was confused the last chapter was set to take place two months after Chapter 14 and thanks for pointing out your confusion so I could fix that. Hopefully with this chapter out of the way I'll be able to update a little faster. Let me know what you think, cheers.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: This chapter is going to be relatively short but I promise that the next part of it will be up soon.

Chapter 17 - She'd Be California (Rascal Flatts)

Santana laid on the beach, the sun high in the sky, it was March break and she was grateful for the time away from school. She had missed laying on the beach, no one around, the sun beating down and the sound of the waves lapping against the shore. Being so relaxed her ground dropped and her mind took her back to somewhere that was nowhere near the California coast.

In her mind all she could see was long blonde hair, a movie star smile and crystal blue eyes. The way those long legs walked towards her after a long day, she's small town like the country, she wasn't big time but she could be. As Santana's mind wondered further into her day dream she realised that Brittany had been her home away from home, she was a piece of California in North Carolina without ever realising she was.

She pictured Brittany walking out of the water as she laid out tanning, the blonde wringing her hair out on her stomach just to annoy her. She pictured the chase that would follow and splashing around in the water. The sun beating down on them both, sweet lady kisses as they wrestled once they were back on the sand. Inevitably the picture taking that would go on after they had dried off and gotten clothed again.

That's when she felt the water hit her stomach. "Britt!" She yelled without thinking before the words left her mouth. "Shit." She whispered to herself as she opened her eyes and saw her least favourite blonde at the moment. "What the hell Quinn?"

"Wanted to see if you were still alive, but so much for not thinking about Brittany."

Santana made a bitchy face at the girl. "Ooo you caught me thinking about my too beautiful for words ex-girlfriend. Doesn't change anything and it doesn't mean anything."

Quinn nodded as she sat down on her towel, so much for being alone. "Look S, I know you miss her, you know you miss her so why don't you grow some and call her. I know you don't want to hear this but you had similar thoughts to everyone that lived there, cut her some slack. Like I said before, I saw her the night you two met and if fairytale princes and princesses were real than Brittany looked at you the way Charming looked at Cinderella the night her saw her at the ball."

"Did you just make a Disney reference?"

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Stop being so stubborn and talk to her, I really don't understand why you haven't."

Santana shrugged and laid back down to let the sun dry off her stomach. They stayed quiet for awhile, neither saying a word. "I left Q, I can't go back there now, Brittany will never like being out here although I think she could be a California girl at heart. I got on that plane and she knew I was and she didn't do anything. We're worlds apart again and long distance doesn't work. Look at you and trouty mouth, even you blue eyed babies couldn't make it work."

Quinn turned her head, squinting as she looked at the Latina. "We didn't work because we didn't spend the time together you and Brittany did. There's something about you two, this unspoken bond. Santana sometimes when you meet someone sparks fly, and how many times did she chase after you? You shouldn't give up on true love."

"Seriously I'm locking all the Disney movies back in the vault. Come on, I'm bored, let's go get ready for the party tonight."

**North Carolina **

"Hello," she answered the phone unsure of who was on the other line.

"Brittany, hey, its Quinn. Got a minute?"

The look of shock swept over Brittany's face. "Yes, yeah, of course. How are ya?"

"I'm good, but I actually called to see how you were."

"Why would you do that after what I said about your best friend?" Brittany sat back on her bed and pulled the blanket up.

"I know that what you said you said before you met her. Santana has a trust issue so to her it's like you somehow broke that trust, don't ask me, I don't get it. Why didn't you go after her?"

Brittany took a deep breath, it had been a question she continually asked herself. "I honestly don't know, I was mad and upset that she was leaving and that she didn't tell me and to be completely honest I still am."

"Imagine being taken from everything you've known your whole life and thrust into a life that didn't make sense. When Santana came back here and Coach Sue talked to her it was an opportunity for her to go to college on her own and without the financial support of her parents. She's stubborn and she likes to do things on her own, she wants to be her own person and she knew this was how she could do that but it wasn't easy for her to choose and I don't think she really chose until you two got into that fight."

"Quinn, she could have easily gotten a scholarship if she had joined our cheer team, we aren't exactly horrible."

"You don't know Coach, she would have black balled her, especially if you guys ended up getting far an nationals and competing against us."

Brittany's shoulders relaxed a little as she switched the phone to her other ear. "She really would have done that to her?"

Quinn laughed into the phone like it was a silly question. "Like I said you don't know Coach Sue."

There was a long silence before Brittany decided to speak again. "What does it matter now Quinn, she's there and I'm here."

"Come visit." It wasn't a question but a statement and one Quinn planned on making a reality.

"California scares me and more than that Santana does."

"Santana can be a bitch, believe me I know, I taught here but I think you'd like it here. Beaches, sun, surfing, good looking people or person in your case because lets face it I'm hot. Here's the thing, I talked to Sam and he wants to come out here for Spring Break you should come with him." Brittany was a little shocked at what Quinn was saying and even though she had been somewhat planning on doing the same thing she wasn't sure it would be a good idea. "If you love her Brittany than nothing should stop you from telling her that. Fights happen and love isn't easy but its worth it, plus you've got the looks to be a superstar dancer." The line went silent once again, leaving Quinn wondering if she had said enough to try and convince Brittany. "She wants to see you Britt, she misses you."

"I'll talk to my parents about it."

Quinn smiled from ear to ear. "Awesome, I'll keep in touch, bye."

Brittany stood up from her bed and paced her room before picking up the phone and calling her best friend, she definitely needed a little bit of guidance. Except she knew what her best friend was going to say, she was going to tell her to go after her girl.

**California **

"Who you keeping in touch with?" Santana asked as she walked through Quinn's bedroom door in a skin tight green dress.

"Sam, I think he might come out here for Spring Break."

Santana walked over to her best friends mirror and checked herself out in the mirror. "Damn I'm hot but what you said is cool too."

"I see you're finally getting back to your California self."

"Mhmm, that's right and you know you wants a piece of this."

Quinn threw a pillow at her before getting up off her bed to finish getting ready. Now the only thing the blonde had to worry about was Santana finding out that Brittany was going to be in California and keeping the brunette out of trouble until then.


	18. Chapter 18 Give Me Everything

**Chapter 18 - Give Me Everything (Pitbull) **

"We should have driven, it would have been more fun." Sam said as they boarded the airplane.

Brittany shook her head. "We wouldn't have had as much time if we drove," she shook her head, "and they call me the blonde."

A few hours later the pair stepped off the plane at LAX to a warm breeze and sunny sky. As they walked out the terminal doors both blondes smiled as they saw Quinn pull up in her black Range Rover. She parked the truck and got out as quickly as possible before running over to Sam and giving him a hug. A minute later she wrapped her arms around Brittany and gave the girl a good squeeze.

"You know you always struck me as more of the sports car type." Brittany said with a smile as they loaded their luggage into the back of the car.

"Oh this isn't mine this is my mom's your stuff won't fit in my car." Brittany and Sam shared a look before Quinn started to laughing. "I'm only kidding, come on, get in."

Sam smiled and got into the front passenger side as Brittany got into the back behind him. "You look like you're ready to go out and party." Sam noted as he held Quinn's hand.

"That's because I have a party to go to, you guys didn't pick the best of days to fly in. Puck's birthday party is tonight he's turning 18 for the sixth time. You two are more than welcome, I got you on the guestlist but don't feel like you need to and I promise if you two don't come I won't be there long." She looked back at Brittany and smiled before turning her attention back to the road. "Yes Santana will be there, she left early with Becky to get ready."

An hour later the three blondes pulled up to a long driveway and a gate. Stopping Quinn punched in a code onto the keypad, opening the gates. As they got closer Sam and Brittany's mouths fell open slightly. "This is your house?" Sam asked as they got closer and closer.

Quinn laughed slightly. "Uh, yeah."

"My house is big but it's not that big."

Quinn shrugged as she parked the car. "My mom is a little bit of an over achiever. Her and my dad are away right now on a business trip but they should be back the day before you guys leave so you can meet them then."

Fifteen minutes and a tour later, Sam and Brittany were getting comfortable in their rooms when Quinn called them. When they reached her room they saw that she was now completely ready to go to the party, hair wavy with lose curls and nails freshly painted. "I know you guys have had a long trip but I was just wondering if you wanted to come or not, I have to head out soon."

They looked at each other and nodded. "We're in," they said in unison causing Quinn to smile.

"Sam, nice dress pants and a nice shirt, Britt, lets go see what we can do." Sam stood still waiting for Quinn to say something more. "Shoo." Was all he got as Quinn practically pushed him out of the room.

"I have this grey dress that will look great on you, want to give it a try?"

Brittany gave Quinn a sly smile. "Actually I brought my own little black dress." Quinn smiled at the girl and waited for her to move. "What?"

"Go try it on!"

A half hour later the three blondes were getting into a limo outside of Brittany's house. The two southerners looked out the window at the palm trees and off in the distance the big city lights and the coastline. "How did you ever deal with North Carolina for a day coming from this?" Sam asked as he held Quinn's hand.

"The same as you two though, Wilmington is beautiful and humble, most of the people here definitely do not have that quality. Sometimes it gets really tiring to always have to put a smile on your face and act like you're okay when you're not because people will talk and gossip."

"We have gossipers at home, you know that." Brittany said as she took her gaze off of what was outside the window.

"It's not the same though, at the end of the day even the three old ladies on the Kensington bench would care if something happened to you. Enough about that though, you two ready to party?"

Brittany and Sam laughed. "I think we can handle a party." Sam said. "I mean you did meet us at a party."

"Yeah this party is a little different, you can handle the alcohol but the lights and heart pumping bass, I'm not so sure."

"We're here Miss." The driver said as he pulled over letting them get out. Quinn got out first and waited for the other two.

"That's one heck of a line." Sam looked at the line that went around the corner. "Where does it end?"

"We're standing in that? We'll never get in." Brittany said a little upset.

When they heard Quinn laugh the two shot her a look. "Like I'm standing in that line, in these heels. Not a chance, I've known Puck since he was in diapers no way we are standing in this line or Noah will die. Follow me." As the other two blondes followed her they looked around at the busy street and stores that were still open even though it was nearly 10 o'clock at night. This definitely was not like the small town they were from, but it was definitely something to look. "Hi Rodger, these two are will me." The big bald bouncer smiled and moved the rope for the three to walk through. Security didn't bother patting them down or checking I.D.

"That's it? We're in?" Sam asked.

Quinn kissed his cheek and took his. "That's it, I told you I've known Noah a long time. Come on Britt, let's get me a drink before Santana kills me." Brittany nodded happily as they made their way to the bar.

The club was already packed, the music was loud and the bass pumping just as Quinn had said. Brittany took a deep breath before she downed the shot of tequila. She felt Quinn nudge her and point. Following the girls finger she spotted Santana in the middle of the dance floor with a mohawked guy whose arms were around her waist. "Don't worry that's just Puck, no they aren't back together and no nothing happened but they've always been good friends. I don't know why I told you that because you knew that." Quinn said in her ear even though it was barely audible over the music.

As the song changed Santana moved away from Puck and started dancing with a group of girls. Suddenly feeling the liquid courage Brittany had one more shot and started to walk over to the girl she hadn't seen in months. She had to admit that as always the girl took her breath away, especially in the blue bandage dress she was wearing. Even though the club was packed when she was close enough all Brittany could see was Santana as the girl swayed with the music.

"_Grab somebody sexy tell em hey." _Taking her cue from the song Brittany gingerly rested her hands on Santana's hip and started to move with her. "Hey." She whispered hoping to not scare the girl but mostly being scared of the attack she was most likely going to receive. Instead Santana turned in her arms and looked at her like she had seen a ghost. They continued to move together, forgetting about everyone else that was in the room. They stayed face to face for awhile before Santana turned around and moved her hips in time with Brittany's. She set her hands on the blondes that were still on your hips making sure the blonde didn't go anywhere.

"Is that Brittany?" Puck asked Quinn as he sat down next to her and Sam on the couch. Quinn smiled as they watched the two get reacquainted with one another. "Damn, she is hot."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Puck this is Sam, Sam this is Puck."

"Hey man, how's it goin'" Sam's accent coming through making Quinn smile.

Puck extending his hand to shake Sam's. "Hey, good, nice to meet you, Quinn's told us a lot about her Southern charmer."

Sam smiled. "Happy birthday by the way."

By the time Sam and Quinn made their way onto the dance floor the song had changed but Brittany and Santana hadn't really moved from their close position. Looking up at Quinn Santana smiled, and when she saw Sam it turned her to turn around and really look at Brittany. "You're really here." She blinked a few times, trying to make sure that the alcohol wasn't making her see things. Brittany just nodded as Santana wrapped her arms around the girls neck and hugged her tightly. "I'm still so mad at you, but I've missed you like crazy. You want to get out of here?" Brittany nodded again causing Santana to grab the girls hand and lead her out of the club.

"Shouldn't we tell Quinn?"

"She'll know where I'm going. Staying at Quinn's?" Brittany nodded again. "Of course you are, come on let's go change."

An hour later the two girls walked into Quinn's. "Get changed, put on something comfy be you back here in ten."

Once upstairs Santana changed into sweat pants and a hoodie. She washed her face so that it was clean and make-up less. Taking a deep breath she finished the bottle of water that was in her room. She threw her hair up into a loose pony tail and checked herself over once more in the mirror.

"Is that my sweater?" Brittany asked as Santana walked down the stairs. Smiling shyly she nodded in response. "I've been wondering where that was, you gave it back to me though."

Santana shook her head. "It was in the back of your truck one day and I took it back. Come on." Brittany followed her out the back doors and down a path to a set of steps. "Careful they get a little slippery at night."

Without looking back Santana kept walking before finally stopping and sitting down on the sand. It took a minute for her to realise Brittany hadn't followed suit. Turning around she could see the girl standing there staring out at the ocean. "It's beautiful, no wonder you missed it."

"I miss you." Santana said after a few moments causing Brittany to finally look in her direction. A minute after that Santana felt the blonde sit down next to her.

"I'm sorry, I am so utterly sorry that I said everything that I had said. I didn't know you and it wasn't fair of me to say any of that and then to not tell you about it once I did get to know you. I have a lot of friends and a lot of people who care about me but I was missing my best friend and you filled that role and I have felt empty since you've been gone. I should have gone after you, I never should have let you get on that plane and I know it may not have changed your mind but it would have at least showed you how much I love you. I'll understand if you want me to get on a plane tomorrow but I had to see you, in person to tell you that I miss you like crazy and my life hasn't been the same without you. I know its my own fault and I let my pride get in the way."

Without anymore warning Santana leaned over and kissed the blonde. It had been too long since she had been able to feel Brittany close to her and with a single speech all the anger she felt vanished and she was left with nothing but longing.

A few minutes later they broke apart, a need for air taking over. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Sue and the Cheerios."

"Quinn explained everything, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. For the record you really did look sexy tonight but you really are the most beautiful when you're exactly as you are now. When you're you." Brittany leaned down and kissed Santana's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around the girls waist, pulling her closer.

"Can take the girl out of the south but you can't take the south out of the girl." Santana laughed as she leaned her head back on Brittany's shoulder. "I'm not sure what all this means you just got here, we have a lot to work out but I'm glad you're here."

Brittany nodded. "Me too."


	19. Chapter 19 Better With You

A/N: Thank you all so much for taking the time to leave a review, they all mean so much and truly do keep my writing and inspire me to write.

Chapter 19 - Better With You (Five Times August)

**A Few Days Later **

Brittany woke up to the smell of pancakes and waffles filling her nostrils. She was comfortable in bed and didn't really want to get up, that is until her stomach grumbled and she realised how hungry she actually was. She stumbled downstairs to the kitchen where she sat down in one of the chairs at the table.

"Aren't you normally good and ready by 7 am?" She looked up as Sam spoke and glanced at the clock. Sure enough it was just past 7.

"Why are you up so early?"

Sam smiled and put some food on a plate for his best friend. "Quinn and Santana woke me up when they were getting ready."

Brittany raised an eyebrow and looked sceptically at the blonde boy. "Santana doesn't get up til at least 10 and that's a good day."

"Apparently California Santana gets up a lot earlier than that." Brittany shook her head and looked at Sam like he was about to tell the punch line of a joke, but it never came. "Seriously Britt, they left about 20 minutes ago, they didn't want to wake you."

"Well where the heck did those two go, not like they work out." Her comment made Sam laugh as he told her to finish her breakfast and he'd show her where they went. The boy was positive he had never seen someone eat so fast.

"Did you even breathe or did you just inhale?"

Brittany shrugged and stood up. "Inhaled, let's go see what those two are up too."

"Might want to change into your bikini or something, they said they were at the beach."

Sam led Brittany down the back steps that Brittany had remembered from her and Santana's walk the other night. They were half way down the stairs when a tall tanned guy stepped up into Sam. "Where do you think you're going buddy? This is a private beach."

"We're with Quinn and Santana." He said a little nervously, not really wanting to get into a fight on a staircase.

The guy laughed. "Well then, come on down, I'm going to get shakes want anything?"

Sam looked back at Brittany and both blonde shook their heads no. Looking around the beach Brittany couldn't spot Santana or Quinn. "You wouldn't happen to know where they were would ya?" Brittany asked with a sweet smile.

"I heard we had some Southerns in town, and they're out there somewhere." He pointed towards the water where a small group of four could be seen sitting on their surfboards.

"Thanks." Was all Brittany said as she moved past both guys and made her way down to the sand and sat down. She watched mesmerized as Santana caught a wave and carved a nice line. She smiled to herself remembering that Santana had told her that she liked to surf. Until now she had never realised that the girl truly meant it as she had never really seen Santana do anything really athletic. Even in the pool she would rather float than swim.

"Dang, Santana is bad ass." Sam nudged Brittany trying to get her attention but she couldn't tear her eyes off the girl out in the water. As she sat and watched the girl catch wave after wave she realised that even though it was early in the morning she wasn't cold and she understood why Santana never got up before 10 am, it was too cold.

After a half hour the two blondes watched as Quinn and Santana swam in. Getting to shore they picked up their boards and carried them towards Sam and Brittany. For her part Brittany couldn't help but stare at Santana as the sun shined down on her perfectly tanned skin. She now also understood why the girl was always complaining about being pasty.

"Hey." Santana smiled at Brittany as she stood her board up in the sand. "How'd you sleep?" Brittany wasn't able to answer so she simply nodded and smiled. "Want to learn?"

"Maybe later?" Santana smiled and nodded as they all headed back to Quinn's house.

Two hours later Brittany found herself laying on a long board with Santana next to her on her own board. Santana had convinced her to at least try it before she went back to wake boarding. They had piled into Santana's car, surfboards sticking out of the backseat, the top down and radio on. In a way to entice the blonde Santana had let the other girl drive to the small beach. Looking over at Brittany the Latina smiled as she replayed their drive, Brittany's cowboy hat on and all. She had spent the last while trying to teach Brittany how to surf but it hadn't worked out well so they decided to just lay out in the ocean.

"Surprisingly I like it here, it's a lot calmer than I thought." Brittany confessed as she reached for Santana's hand.

"That's because I've kept you away from the crazies and out of the city."

"What like Sue Sylvester?"

Santana let out a hardy laugh. "Yes, exactly like Coach Sue. God I've never hear the end of it if we ran into her."

"San, Britt get your butts in here!" They heard Quinn yell from Shore. Santana looked at Brittany who nodded.

"Think you can paddle in?"

Brittany laugh as she turned over and started to paddle away. "I might not be so good with riding the wave but I know how to paddle."

"At least all the falling from wake boarding prepared you to fall off a wave." The blonde turned her head and glared at the other girl as she splashing water at her.

Once back on solid ground Santana put her hands on her hips. "What the hell Fabray."

"I was thinking we could take Sam and Britt to that place, you know the one by the water."

Brittany looked around and smiled. "We're already by the water."

"Yeah but this is a different place and I was thinking we could take the you know, for fun."

Santana thought about it for a second and Brittany watched as a smile etched its way across her face. "That sounds like a good idea, they'd like that and we have that thing tonight too so it'll work perfect."

"Your parents have a shaggin' wagon?" Sam said as Santana opened the garage at her cousins house.

"That they do, I'm pretty sure I was conceived in it but don't worry I've thoroughly cleaned it, more than once."

Brittany smiled and walked over to the green VW bus. Opening the hood she took a look and was impressed with how well kept it was. "These things have a habit of breaking down a lot, but this one is in great condition, can I drive it?"

Santana shook her head no. "Maybe on the way back because if I let you drive there I'd have to tell you where we're going and it's a surprise."

An hour later the four friends were parked on the beach with the back of the VW open. Quinn was out in the water with Sam, trying to teach him how to surf and Santana was on her way in. She smiled when she saw Brittany laying in the back of the bus with her dad's old guitar on her lap. "I love when you play that song." She said as she leaned against the side of the vehicle and listened to Brittany play the rest of Taylor Swift's Our Song. Once she dried off she crawled into the back and laid down next to the blonde. Never in her wildest dreams had she pictured being able to lay with Brittany on the beach that wasn't in or near North Carolina.

"Come on, let's go for a walk."

Brittany nodded as Santana got up and extended her hand. Taking her hand the blonde too got up. They walked for awhile before Brittany could see a rock cove. "Quinn and I found this place awhile ago, its nice and secluded which is why we can park on right on the beach. It's mostly locals only but no one really comes out here, at least not that we've seen. It's where we like to surf when we want to get away." The brunette let go of Brittany's hand so they could climb up onto the rocks.

"What about Quinn's beach though? And I'm sure you had one at your old place."

Santana laughed knowing Brittany's statement was true. "All our friends are always over though, Puck and those boys, the Cheerios. Here no one can bother us and we can get away, clear our heads. She watched as Brittany laid down on a rock and she couldn't help but smile.

"So what have you been hiding on your shoulder the whole walk?"

Santana blushed slightly knowing she was caught. She held up her digital SLR camera for Brittany too see. "Hobby of mine."

"What else do I not know about you?"

"A lot of things probably, but hold still." Brittany did as Santana said and the girl stood on a lower rock, held her camera up and took the picture.

"Let me see it." Brittany said as she leaned over so Santana could show her. "Wow, that's a really good picture."

"You make it easy. Now I wants a kiss for showing you." Grinning Brittany leaned over a little more and softly kissed Santana. "Mmm, I forgot how good those southern lips of yours were."

They laid on the rocks awhile longer before Santana asked the one question they had both been dreading. "What are you going to do when you leave? I'm going to be honest with you, I don't want to date anyone else, Puck and those other guys, I just want you but I understand if that's not what you want."

Brittany sat up and looked at Santana as she reached her hand out to brush her thumb over the girls cheek. "I don't want to date anyone and to be honest I don't really want you to either. Call me old fashioned or selfish but I like having you all to myself. We'll find a way to make it work, like Sam and Quinn."

"I'm really glad you came out here."

"Me too, its opened my eyes to where you really came from. Sure it's a little more cut throat but seeing this laid back side of you in your own element makes me realise why you are the way you are. I love you."

Santana held in the tears that were threatening to spill out. "I love you too Brittany S Pierce."

Later that night after more pictures were taken and beach soccer the four headed back to Quinn's to change. "Where we off too tonight?" Sam asked as he finished gelling his hair.

"Bon fire, sort of a back to school thing. One last hurrah before we all go back to jail." Quinn smiled as she fixed his hair a little. "I'm warning you though we go to school with a lot of pricks and ours isn't the only school that goes so please don't let anyone get under your skin because they really aren't worth it."

"Not to worry sugar, I got this."

There was a group of about ten people sitting by the furthest fire away from the parking lot and that's exactly where Quinn and Santana led their respective other halves. Brittany laid the blanket down for Santana and her to sit on. Brittany sat behind her girlfriend with her legs around either side of the other girls, Santana's head resting back on Brittany's shoulder.

"Well if it isn't Santana and Quinny Quinn Quinn. Oink oink Caboosey."

Immediately Santana stood up and turned around. Puck leaned over to Brittany and told her to prepare for a good show while Sam too stood up next to Santana. Quinn had told him about being over weight and the names people called her. "Oh hells to the no you did not just say that. What even is wrong with your face? I didn't know they made troll look a likes."

"Well if it isn't the wicked witch of Orange County. Thought the trash finally came and got rid of your flat ass. Heard they imported you back to Mexico where your people are from."

It was then that Brittany was about to stand up but Puck held onto her arm. "She can take care of it herself, don't worry."

"Listen jew fro, when goods leave a country its exporting for one. For two, not that you can count that high but this ass is amazing and real unlike, well you. How much did it cost daddy to get that schnoz fixed and those boobs, wow those are great, at least when we tell you to walk the plank now you'll be able to float when you fall in the water. If I do recalls you're supposed to already be graduated by now because someone failed kindergarten. If it wasn't for daddy's money they probably would have stuck you in an ESL class with kids who actually need ESL so back off Quinn or I will owns you."

The girl took a step forward and Brittany watched as Santana stood up a little straighter, no fear at all in her eyes. She now understand where and why the girl was never one to back down from a fight. "You really want to do that because the last time you tried your wig ended up in the ocean."

"I hate you." The girl said as she started to walk away.

"Good, that's just the way I like it, nice talking to you come back soon." With the girl and her posey walking away the rest of the crowd started to cheer. Smiling Santana sat back down and leaned back against Brittany as though nothing happened. Quinn mouthed a thank you to which Santana nodded. "Sorry you had to see that."

"No, its okay it was actually kind of funny. Did you really get into a fight with her?"

Puck laughed and answered before Santana could. "Those two have been scrapping since we were all little. Amanda has always been jealous of Santana, so she always tries to bring her down but Santana always wins."

"True, remember the time you told her that she was adopted from a pack of rabid dogs and you told that's why she had fleas." Quinn laughed as Puck started playing his guitar again.

"No one messes with my girl Quinn and gets away with it." Santana said as she kissed the side of Brittany's neck.

"Alright enough bullshit, Santana you want to take this one?" He asked as he started to play a few chords of the song he wanted her to sing.

Smiling Santana sat up a little. "So maybe I've got a lot to learn, or maybe I'm just hanging on my words. Or maybe it's not a big concern but if I raise my hand would I understand why I'm better with you. So maybe there's not a lot to say, maybe I'm wrong doing things my way, yeah. Maybe things will be okay if I get it together and do something clever but make it better with you."

"Where are we going?" Brittany asked as Santana drove down the freeway towards the city.

"Dance class." She smiled.

Twenty minutes later she parked her car at the back of the building and grabbed her back from the trunk. Brittany followed her into the building and was impressed with the size of the room and the number of people in it. As the instructors walked through the door Brittany looked over at Santana with a big smile on her face. "No wonder you were so good when you walked into my class NappyTabs is amazing."

"I thought you might think so."

After forty five minutes of going through choreography each group took turns performing what they had just learned to Beyonce's Countdown. Brittany definitely knew how to dance and all Santana could do was try to focus on dancing next to her, not that it was easy to do. Everyone applauded when they're group was done and as they were getting ready to leave Tabitha walked over and asked to speak to Brittany for a second who just nodded. Santana told her that she'd wait for her in the car and left the two alone to talk.

Ten minutes later Brittany opened the car door and got in, a giant smile on her face. "She said I was amazing and that if I ever wanted an audition to give her a call."

"That's great Britt, and she's right you are amazing."

"Thank you for that, it was unreal." Santana couldn't help but smile and nod her head as she backed out of the parking spot with Brittany's hand in hers.

The next day Santana found herself in LA once again, except this time it wasn't for a good reason. She parked her car and headed inside where she found Brittany and Sam checked in and waiting for their boarding call. "I'm gonna miss you." Brittany said, her accent thicker than normal because of her nerves.

"I'm going to miss you too B, but I'll see you soon enough at Nationals, so make sure you get the girls there. Besides nothing would compare to getting to beat you."

"Two months, that's it right?" Santana nodded as she wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck and hugged her tightly. "I love you San, no matter what remember that." Brittany felt Santana nod slightly and a barely audible whisper. "I love you too."

It was then that they got their boarding call. Santana and Quinn watched as both southern blondes made their way down the tunnel and out to the plane. Once they were back to the car Santana broke their easy silence. "Thank you, very everything."

"You have my back, and I have yours. Come on, let's go home and pick out on ice cream before we have to go back on Sue's crazy diet."


	20. Chapter 20 Devil Went Down to Georgia

Chapter 20 - Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels Band)

**Four Years Later **

They didn't end up going to the same college, instead Brittany chose Tennessee and Santana went to USC. That is until her second year when she got an offer she couldn't refuse, a double major scholarship that allowed her to pursue her love of singing and her love of writing. If she wanted to write, New York was the best place for that and so she transferred to NYU. They agreed to let her credits transfer over, since she convinced them doing so would save them money and one hell of an argument. Now she was in her last year with an internship set up at Vogue.

As for her and Brittany, well they stayed together through their first year of college but somewhere after that things seemed to fall apart. Phone calls became short and far between, visits became non-existent as they both got caught up in their own lives. They had gone to prom together, and Santana was there when Brittany flew to L.A. for her first audition for a music video. It just proved what Santana had always believed, that sometimes love wasn't enough. Even after they had broken up they had occasionally sent emails to one another just to let the other know that they were okay but that too had stopped.

Santana didn't bother going to visit North Carolina too often, her mother seemed to like to visit her, probably because of the shopping. The last time she had seen Brittany was a year ago in Tennessee, at least she thought it was Brittany. Her arm was wrapped around the waist of some baseball player, she hadn't noticed Santana and Santana hadn't bothered to figure out if it really was her ex neighbour. In her heart she knew that it was though, one look at the girls slender but firm legs, blonde flowing hair and bubbly personality, she knew it was her. Especially because they were at Vols game, and Brittany loved nothing more than going to see her Vols play.

She now found herself in a nice uptown apartment with a roommate that she got along with most of the time. They mostly stayed out of each others way, and Santana was sure that if she wasn't friends with the girl she'd probably hate her based on looks alone. They met in Santana's first year at NYU, the girl had taken a liking to Santana's rough and tough attitude. Under normal circumstances she would have told the girl where to go but she didn't know anyone in New York so she was not about to piss off the first person that genuinely seemed to like her.

She had her head in her textbook when she heard the knock at her door. There was no question who it was so she sat back and turned around in her chair. "Come in Berry."

"Hi Santana, sorry to bother you, I know that you're studying but I just wanted to clarify that it was okay that an old friend of mine come over this weekend."

"I said it was fine Berry as long as said friend doesn't sleep in my bed or touch my stuff no bones will be broken. I'm going home for the weekend, my mother said that it was about time I made an appearance."

"What? I thought you were going to be here? I was excited for you to meet my friend." The girl frowned and almost looked like she was about to cry.

"I know but duty calls, sometimes I have to be a good daughter."

Rachel leaned against the doorframe. "Isn't California a little far to go home for the weekend?"

Instead of telling Rachel the full truth, she laughed and told her to leave so that she could go back to reading. For once the shorter girl didn't complain, she simply walked out of the room and closed the door on her way out. There was no real reason for her to not tell Rachel about North Carolina but in an odd way it was her way to keep that part of her life to herself. She had left her heart in North Carolina and so whenever she talked about it, it only hurt. Knowing what Rachel was like, it was a conversation she never really wanted to have with the girl.

**North Carolina - Next Day **

"Mama, I'm home." Santana announced as she walked through the front door. When her mother didn't answer she smiled and shook her head as she walked towards the kitchen where she saw her mother sitting at the table. Her heart stopped momentarily when she noticed the blonde in the room.

"Oh good you're home, finally, you're father is just at work he should be home shortly." She walked over and gave her mother a hug.

"Santana, it's good to have you home, I've been hearing great things about you and New York." The blonde woman stood up and engulfed the girl in a hug.

Santana genuinely smiled. "It's nice to see you Karen, it's been too long. Next time mom comes to visit you should tag along, we can raise a little hell in New York."

"That would be wonderful Santana, thank you. You're so grown up, just yesterday you were laying pool side in worrying about what college you wanted to go too."

"I know, it's a little weird to be back here but I forgot how beautiful it was."

Over the next few hours Santana sat with her mother and Karen catching up and having a nice girl chat. The topic of the younger Pierce never came up and Santana was thankful that even the girls mother knew that it was a touchy subject.

**New York **

Rachel excitedly ran to the door the second she heard the knock. Throwing the door open she wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Britt, it's so good to see you. I miss you!"

Brittany laughed and hugged the girl back. "Miss me enough to let me in?"

"Right sorry, come on in."

"So where's this hot room mate I keep hearing about, that has almost as much talent as you do?"

Rachel laughed as the two old friends sat down on the couch. "She went home for the weekend."

"Here I was ready to hit on her." Brittany laughed.

Rachel rolled her eyes and stood up. "Get ready, I'm showing you the city tonight. It's been way to long since you've been here."

"Works for me, but next time you have to come visit me in Tennessee, get you to let loose a little."

"I can let loose, as a matter of fact we're going to let loose right now." The smaller girl laughed as she stood up and got ready to go out.

"If you say."

A couple days later Rachel gave Brittany one final hug before the girl got into her cab. She waved for a few seconds as she watched the cab pull away and fade into the traffic. "Who you waving at crazy?"

Turning around the smaller brunette smiled and hugged her room mate. "My best friend just left, you seriously have the worst timing Santana."

"Damn, from all I've heard about her she's really hot I would have liked to meet her." Rachel slapped her arm lightly as she laughed. "So what's her name anyways, you always refer to her as 'my best friend' like the girl doesn't have any other time."

"Brittany, her name is Brittany and she's…"

Santana held up her hand and shook her head. "Told ya Berry, I's does not wants to here any of your stories because they always cost me money for coffee just to stay awake."

"Fine, but when I got see her in a few months you are coming with me and I will not take no for an answer."

**A Few Months Later **

Santana was singing in the kitchen as she made a fresh batch of cookies when she heard the front door close. "Santana?"

"Kitchen." No sooner had she spoken she saw Rachel appear in the kitchen. "What? You have that look on your face like I'm not going to like whatever it is but that you are super excited."

Rachel smiled and it only caused Santana to worry a little more. "I bought us two plane tickets to go to Tennessee to see Brittany this weekend."

The Latina felt her heart drop and a numb feeling take over her. She quickly reminded herself that Brittany was a popular name and that there was no association with the love of her life. Who, if she recalled correctly had moved on and from what she had heard from Mercedes a year ago about her the girl and her boyfriend were getting really serious. So serious that she had brought him home to meet her parents and her friends.

"Why do you have that look on your face?"

Leaning back on the counter Santana ran her fingers through her hair. "Remember the ex I told you about?"

Rachel nodded. "The one that you still have yet to get over and you regret not applying to the same school as her so you two could have been together."

Santana nodded. "Her name was Brittany, so whenever I hear that name it kind of just stings a little still."

"Don't worry, it'll be a fun weekend and who knows maybe you'll even forget about your ex Brittany."

"Does your friend have a boyfriend?" Santana wiggled her eyebrows making Rachel leave the room. "Well, does she?" The girl yelled after her roommate.

A second later she a heard the girl answer. "As a matter of fact no, her and her boyfriend broke up not long ago." There was a pause before the shorter girl spoke again. "No that does not mean you can hit on her." Santana laughed as she finished cleaning up the kitchen before going to pack. She figured the weekend away might do her some good, finals were right around the corner and going away for the weekend would be a good stress relief.

An hour later both girls were packed and ready to go, they hailed a cab and headed to the airport. "Thanks for coming with me."

"Thanks for paying for the ticket." Santana smiled before she put her headphones in and leaned back to get a quick nap in.

She didn't wake up until Rachel nudged her, telling her that they were about to land. A half hour later they were at Brittany's house, except Brittany wasn't home. The girl had left Rachel a key in the backyard so they could let themselves in. "Change and we'll head over to the bar to meet up with her?"

Santana nodded. "Sounds good, I'll go change in the bathroom." Without taking a look around she changed into a pair of tight fitted jeans, her old cowboy boots and a black tank top.

"Well Santana you sure know how to get your country on."

"What can I say, I've had some practise a time or two. Now let's go get our drank on."

Santana looked up at the sign and shook her head. "The Rammer Jammer."

"It'll be fun."

"Yeah with a bottle of tequila."

Rachel smiled as they walked into the bar. "Of course, Britt said she left me a bottle so we can help ourselves, she just went for dinner but she said she'll back to finish her shift in a little bit."

Sure enough when Rachel spoke to the bartender the girl handed her a bottle of Jose and a few shot glasses. She set the bottle and glasses on the table that Santana had got them with a smile. "We're getting crazy tonight."

"Yeah we are." Santana grinned as she poured them each a shot. "Cheers." They clinked glasses before downing the shots.

"Okay, must get limes." Santana laughed as the girl got up and headed over to the bar.

"Come on Berry, you don't need training wheels."

An hour later with half the bottle of tequila gone and various other drinks bought by guys and a few girls the two room mates were sufficiently drunk. Santana was dancing with a guy that had just bought her a drink when she heard Rachel squeal. "Britt!" When she turned around to finally get a glimpse of the girl all she saw was blonde hair. _Perfect. _She thought to herself, like she needed yet another reminder of her Brittany. "Santana, come hither."

Rolling her eyes Santana moved away from the guys, standing just behind the blonde girl. As the girl turned around she felt her heart warm up and it was as though someone unleashed a butterfly conservatory in her stomach. They stood still and looked at each other, neither moving or saying a word. It was then that Brittany smiled her beautiful smile like she had known along that Santana was Rachel's roommate. Rachel looked between them and it took her a little longer to figure things out than it normally would have if alcohol wasn't in her system.

Before they could speak the song changed and Brittany was being called. "Britt come on, we need you." Brittany smiled, picked up her cowboy hat and put it on as one of the guys helped her up onto the bar. "Ya'll are about to find out why this place is famous 'cause tonight the devil went down to Tennessee." The bartender that had called Brittany over stood next to her as they started to move their feet. Santana and Rachel visibly gulped and Santana couldn't tear her eyes off Brittany. The only thing age had done was made the girl even more gorgeous.

The girls kept dancing as the song continued. Brittany leaned over and grabbed a drink out of some guys hand and downed it causing everyone in the bar to cheer a little louder. It was then that Brittany and the girl next to her started to wave Santana over. The girl shook her head but Rachel smiled slyly as she realised the full extent of what was going on. The smaller girl gave Santana a push and the guys around them picked Santana up and put her on the bar. The two blonde bartenders sandwiched her between them as Brittany put her hat on the Latina. Santana took a deep breath as she felt Brittany's midsection rub against her own. Looking down she saw that the girls abs were still perfectly toned and she still smelled as good as ever.

Brittany started to slide down Santana's body before turning around and grinding into the girl. As she turned back around she grabbed onto the girls hips and started to move them with hers as the bartender behind her did the same. Soon after that the girl behind her handed her a drink that she quickly downed before the glass was taken from her. She moved with Brittany as if the past four years had never happened. Brittany grabbed her leg and pulled it up to her hip before tipping her backwards as the song ended. The crowd settled down and Santana was helped off the bar, followed by Brittany.

The two former lovers and neighbours walked back to their friend. "Did you know about this?" Santana asked Rachel who shook her head.

"I swear I had no idea, I never put it together, you said you were from California."

"Wait so if you two are best friends than your old house is my parents house."

Brittany smiled as she nodded her head. "That would be correct." The blonde laughed as Rachel started to sway backwards. "Woah, easy buddy." She helped the girl sit down on the stool.

"You knew?" Santana looked at Brittany and watched the girls reaction to her question. "For how long?"

"When I came to visit a few months ago, you have a picture of you and Quinn on the fireplace mantel. That and the apartment smelled like you, don't worry Rachel didn't let me into your room though."

The bartender that had been dancing behind Santana walked over and smiled at her. "Hey, here's my number, call me sometime."

"Thanks." She winked at the girl before looking back at Brittany who was shooting lasers at the other blonde.

"I can't believe you are her ex girlfriend." They laughed as they looked over at Rachel, head on the table and ready to fall over at any moment.

"Let's get you home." Brittany practically picked the small girl up off the stood and helped her out of the bar with Santana right behind her.

On the cab in the way back to Brittany's Rachel fell asleep in between them, her head on Brittany's shoulder. "Some job you got."

"Yeah, it's fun and it pays the bills."

"Saw you in a few music videos what happened to that?"

Brittany laughed. "School." Santana nodded in understanding. "I don't think I've ever seen you this drunk Ms. Lopez."

Santana let out a hardy laugh. "I haven't been this drunk in awhile, Rachel definitely got her mission accomplished.

Once back at Brittany's Santana helped the blonde carry Rachel inside. They set her down on the couch as she started to wake up but when they looked back at her after getting her shoes off she was fast asleep. "She'll stay that way all night, but she'll complain in the morning."

Santana shrugged. "Let her, not like I'm not used to a little Berry whining."

"You look amazing by the way." Brittany suddenly blurted out as Santana tried to take her boots off. The blonde got closer before leaning down and helping the girl with her boots. "You never could take these off on your own." When she stood up they were inches from one another. "We can't do this, you know we can't do this." She spoke softly as she backed away from Santana little. Santana shrugged, she was too drunk to care about the consequences of climbing into Brittany's. "We both have school and…" Brittany was cut off when she felt Santana's lips on hers. It took all her will but she managed to push Santana away. "We can't, I can't. I'm sorry."

"Right your ex boyfriend or current boyfriend. Sorry."

The blonde nodded and gave her directions to the guest bedroom upstairs. The night passed slowly for both girls, neither getting much sleep. The weekend was spent in an awkward haze, both girls trying to put on a front for Rachel. They made sure to not be left alone together for more than a few seconds, neither wanting to talk about what happened. Brittany feeling bad for it and Santana feeling like a fool.

Once back in New York Santana asked Rachel to not bring Brittany up and she reluctantly told the girl what had happened. Later that night she heard the girl yelling into the phone at her best friend. Now all Santana could do was focus on school and try to get the memory out of her mind. There was just a moment she could not forget, the moment when she felt Brittany kiss her back and it was like fireworks all over again.

A/N: Hope you all liked it, as always feel free to let me know what you think. Selfishly I couldn't write a country Brittana fic without having Brittany dance on a bar.


	21. Chapter 21 Remind Me

A/N: I just have to say thank you all so much for reading and leaving me feedback, all your reviews absolutely made my week and I am so glad to know you're enjoying it. Hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.

Chapter 21 - Remind Me (Brad Paisley ft. Carrie Underwood)

Santana graduated NYU suma cum laude and now found herself staring out the large back window of her summer beach house. Correction, her parents beach house that she was calling home for the summer. It was at her parents request that she move home for a little bit and find her footing again, they didn't want her to have to worry financially until she found a job. So they asked her to spend the summer at home, in North Carolina. While most of her stuff was at her parents house, they're newly acquired beach front property would put space between her and her former girlfriends house. The sting of what happened a few months ago still resonated with her and it was a feeling she didn't want to have to deal with everyday.

She gripped the steering wheel as tight as she could, the windshield wipers moved back and forth as fast as possible. The storm was definitely brewing as the rain fell down and berated the concrete road. Her phone rang, it was her parents, asking her if she could stop in at the beach house and make sure that it was boarded up properly and that nothing was outside. It was on her way home from school and she had to admit the University of Tennessee had been good to her, it had been really good to her except it was lacking a few things. Things that she couldn't wait to get back to, like her friends and family, nothing ever said home quite like her hometown.

When she pulled up to the house she smiled at the fond memories she had of the place. The two months she spent at home during summer vacations from school were not nearly enough. Parking her truck she took a deep breath before bolting for the door in an attempt to stay as dry as possible. There was a possible hurricane on the way and people were told to take as much precaution as possible. Which is why her parents had asked her to make the quick stop seeing as though it was on her way home. Walking inside she saw that everything was as it should be in preparation for the storm. She took another quick walk around the inside of the house before grabbing an umbrella and heading outside. All the boards were still down as the sky roared with thunder. Off in the distance, across the water she could see the already dark sky blacken and she wondered how long it would be until it touched shore.

The weather reporters weren't calling for a strong storm, but strong enough to take seriously as it was upgraded from just a tropical storm. She was getting back into her car to try and get home before the storm when she saw the familiar black mustang sitting in the drive way to the right of her family beach house. Shaking her head she couldn't help but smile and let out a little laugh at the fact that her parents kept the new owners of the neighbouring house a secret from her. The rain was starting to come down harder and if she knew Santana, if it was in fact Santana she knew the girl probably wasn't prepared for the storm and that the girl probably wasn't aware what was headed her way.

Running towards the door she started to knock. After a minute of not hearing an answer she began to ring the doorbell. A little while later a gorgeous brunette opened the door clad in sweat pants and a hoodie. "Brittany." She stood frozen as she took in the girl in front of her.

"Santana." Brittany couldn't help but smile even though the look on Santana's face was a little less happy. Santana in sweats was always her favourite and so even though it was storming outside standing in the beach house was a little ray of sunlight.

They stood staring at each other for awhile before Brittany finally found her nerve to speak. Something about Santana always left her speechless and if it wasn't from the numbing feeling in her fingers she would still be standing outside. "Can I come in? It's a little bit cold out here and wet."

Santana shrugged before stepping aside, letting Brittany in. "What do you want?"

"I just came to see if you were ready for the storm, apparently its supposed to be a class 1 hurricane. You probably shouldn't be here alone."

The brunette shook her head. "Yeah, I heard that but most time reporters don't know what they are talking about, I figure we'll get some rain a little bit of wind and it'll be beautiful out for my morning run."

Brittany shook her head. "Better to be safe than sorry, I was just checking out the house for my parents and I saw your car. You should at least head back to your parents place or something."

"Here I thought you had come to shut me down again, at least you only came because you were trying to protect me." Santana rolled her eyes and started to walk towards the family room where she had a fire going.

"I don't want to fight I just came to see if you were okay, I won't bother you." She watched as Santana sank back down onto the couch and continued to watch Cinderella. As if on queue her phone rang taking her away from her thoughts. "Hi mom, yeah I was just about to head home…What do you mean stay here, the storm is coming in…Okay, I will I'll text every hour or so to let you know." Hanging up the phone she noticed that Santana had looked over at her. "Mom said that we should stay put the storm is moving in faster than they thought, they downgraded it back to a tropical storm but," she was cut off by a flash of lightning flashing through the window. "I'm going to head back over, it was nice to see you Santana, if you need anything just call, or yell."

Brittany had her hand on the door knob by the time Santana caught up to her. "Might as well stay here, but that doesn't mean I want to talk or see you."

"It's fine I can go back over."

Santana shook her head. "It's crazy outside, look at that tree, I'm starting to think it's going to blow over. Who knows what would happen if you went back out there, you might end up in Oz."

"That was a tornado."

Santana rolled her eyes. "I'm aware, look I don't like you to much right now so you can stay here and hang out in the guest bedroom or other living room just so long as you don't interrupt my movies.

"What are you watching next?" Brittany asked as she followed Santana back into the family room.

"The notebook." Brittany sat down on the couch receiving a look from her ex. "What the hell do you think you're doing."

Brittany smiled. "I'm sitting.

"Whatever, just stay over there."

An hour later the lightning had gotten brighter, and the thunder got louder as the storm moved in across the water. The rain was hitting the ground so hard outside that it sounded as though it was inside the house. Santana was looking out the window at the storm, though she never really liked them something about this one fascinated her. With a bright bolt flashing through the sky Santana jumped ever so slightly and it was then that Brittany stood next to her. The brunette felt the blonde's arm graze hers and she wasn't sure if she can handle being in a somewhat confined space with her anymore. It had been years since they had been together, months since their last encounter at the bar but none of that had ever changed how Santana felt.

Without thinking she turned from the window and towards the front door. She walked out into the pouring rain, and down the driveway. She could barely see a foot in front of her as she started to run. No more than two minutes later she felt someone grab her arm and turn her around. "What the hell do you think you're doin'?"

"I'm running." She pulled her arm back and stared Brittany down.

"From what?"

She looked up as the rain ran down her cheeks before looking back at the soaking wet blonde. "From you, I'm running from you because you turned me down!"

Brittany sighed. "You wouldn't pick up my phone calls." She yelled over the sound of the rain, and thunder.

"You shut me down what was there to explain. I wasn't enough for you, I'm not enough for you and that is something I have to deal with. I have to deal with the fact that I love you, and I haven't stopped loving you." She clenched her jaw and looked away before looking back at the love of her life. "I can't stop loving you that's why I never come home to see my parents that's why I'm out here at the beach house."

"You're just so dang stubborn Santana. I'm standing out here in the middle of a hurricane with winds blowing a million miles a second rain coming down so hard I can't feel my finger tips but I'm out here standing in front of you."

"Why? Why couldn't you do it then?" Brittany said nothing. "Exactly."

Brittany watched as Santana turned around and started to walk away again before making her turn around once more. She looked her square in the eye before leaning in and crashing their lips together. The kiss lasted a short few moments before she pulled away. "That's why, because I didn't want the first time we were back together to be in the heat of some drunken moment. I love you Santana, always and forever." Santana remained speechless and Brittany knew that was her cue to continue. "I would have given anything to be with you that night in Tennessee but we were both drunk and Rachel was passed out on the couch, I didn't want that to be us. I wanted more, I want more, I want you." Without warning Santana leaned up and wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck, crashing their lips together once again.

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana' waist and picked her up as she walked back towards the house, wind threatening to blow them both over. It nearly did but Santana's car helped them stay upright as Brittany leaned Santana against the car and continued to kiss her. Their clothes were completely soaked through, their hair was now a mess but neither of them seemed to care. Finally the elements took their toll and they made their way inside. They made sure that the door was locked and securely shut before turning back to each other.

As they made their way upstairs clothes started to be taken off and tossed onto the floor. They made their way to the bedroom and by the time they reached the bed there wasn't an ounce of clothing left to keep them apart. Brittany laid Santana down as she pulled the covers over them. Outside the wind was howling, the rain had turned to hail and the sky was a reddish black but neither girl cared. The only thing they could focus on was one another and reminding each other how they once felt, and how they still feel. For the rest of the night nothing mattered except showing one another how they really feel and making up for lost time. They could talk about in the morning about all the things that would eventually be needed to talk about; Brittany's ex boyfriend, Santana's career but the one thing they didn't need to talk about was how they were going to work because the simple fact of it all was like the weather they were unpredictable but there's always a rainbow after the storm. Right now as they laid between the sheets remembering and reminding each other that no matter they would always make it through the storm.


	22. Chapter 22 Mine

Chapter 22 - Mine (Taylor Swift)

Santana woke up and stretched her arms as she let out a yawn. She stretched her arm across a tanned waist line and a smile crept across her sleepy features. She felt a hand come up and start to lightly rub her back. "Morning sleepy head."

"Mmm, hi." Santana lifted her head up and rested her chin on Brittany's chest. "You sleep okay?"

Brittany smiled. "Yes I did and now the sun is shinin'." Neither girl spoke as they both looked out the window and saw the sun beaming in through the shades. "Will you go on a date with me?"

Santana's eyes widened a little. "Seriously?" Brittany nodded and looked at the other girl as if to ask 'who else would I be asking'. "I would love too."

"How about I make breakfast and you call our parents and let them know that we are alive and well?"

"Sounds good to me as long as you're making me bacon and eggs."

**One Week Later**

They walked down the boardwalk like they had when Brittany was first showing Santana around. It was a beautiful night, there were small lights in the trees, the water was calm, the sky was clear except for the stars and they were together.

"I have to confess something." Santana looked over at Brittany before looking back in front of her.

"Okay, what is it? Do I smell bad or something? I swear I showered this week."

Santana laughed and took a deep breath. "I saw you in Tennessee awhile ago, we got gone down for the family game like we always do and I saw you."

"Why didn't you come over and say hi then?" Brittany asked as she both girls stopped and looked out over the water as a tugboat drove by.

Santana turned around and leaned against the railing as she looked up at the sky. "You were with someone and I was jealous." She paused and closed her eyes for a second. "Then I saw you again later that night, you were the waitress at the restaurant we decided to stop at and all I could do was stare but I couldn't bring myself to say anything. You seemed so happy and I didn't want to upset you, and you were working and I was leaving." Brittany started to laugh causing Santana to look over at her. "How is that funny?"

"I thought I saw you, at the restaurant that night but I thought I was seeing things. When I turned back around you were gone and I realised then that the relationship I was in was never going to be like you and I. He and I broke up, well I broke up with him, he wasn't you and it wasn't what I really wanted. It was fun while it lasted but he wasn't my best friend. I'm not trying to jump to any conclusions but if nothing else I miss my best friend and I'm not talking about Rachel because even I can only be with her in small doses."

Santana laughed as they started to walk again. She smiled when Brittany ran ahead a little and came back with two ice cream cones. "Chocolate, you're my hero, I was totally craving ice cream." Brittany winked as they kept walking passed all the patio's. "Yeah living with Rachel was something else, definitely learned to work on my patience but she's cool." She ran her finger across the ice cream before licking it off her finger. "How did you know it was me, when you came to visit?"

"At first I had no idea, her and I never talked about you, at least she didn't bring you up. We don't really talk to often and if we do is typically over emails so no details were ever discussed. I walked in and I can't explain it, it just smelled like you, it felt like you. I had been thinking a lot about you recently and I figured that that was all it was. Your mom told me that you ended up in New York and I guess that had something to do with it too. Then one night I was looking for the tv remote, saw it on the mantle and there it was, a picture of you. It seriously felt like I couldn't breathe and so when Rachel went to shower I may have snuck into your room. Once I did that it was pretty clear it was you, Cheerio's pictures, and you're favourite Bob Marley painting, dead giveaways.

"Small world after all." Santana looked over at Brittany and chuckled.

"What? Did I miss something?"

Santana shook her head. "You have ice cream on your lip."

Finding it amusing Brittany wiped it away and noticed that Santana had finished her ice cream alright. Taking a final bite she too finished her ice cream as they passed a small Italian restaurant. Without warning Santana grabbed Brittany's hand and pulled her in as she placed one arm around the taller girls neck. They started to sway and soon Brittany had taken the lead and was twirling Santana around. Leaning her head back the girl laughed and Brittany got that feeling of not being able to breathe again.

"When you walk in a dream, but you know you're not dreaming signore…" Santana trailed off as she sang the song finally making Brittany pay attention to the music. They kept dancing until the Santana leaned up and kissed the blonde. It lasted for about a minute as the music started to fade out but neither girl noticed because it was as if time had stopped. When Brittany opened her eyes she was certain that she was going to wake up in bed alone but to her delight she was still standing with Santana in her arms.

"You remembered?"

Santana took a hold of Brittany's hand and tangled their fingers together as they started to walk once again. "Hmm?"

"My dream kiss, you remembered, didn't you?" Santana looked up at her with a look of confusion as Brittany's heart sank a little. The brunette rubbed her thumb over Brittany's as she started to smile.

"You aren't the only one that can be princess charming you know. I am a hopeless romantic after all or did you forget?"

Brittany shook her head no. "No I didn't forget, I never forgot anything about you, and I never will. You're the best thing that's ever been mine and I'm thankful that by some chance of fate or destiny you ended up in my life again." Brittany watched Santana's face as the girl began to look up at her, the light hitting her features in a way Brittany had never noticed before. "You're beautiful," was all she said as sat down on a bench. They stayed like that for awhile, with nothing more than small talk and talking about people as they walked by. Making up little stories of where there were going and why, mostly as they sat they started to find themselves again, and it felt like they had never been apart.

**One Month Later **

They were sprawled out on the couch, Brittany's head on Santana's lap as they watched the sunset out the back window of Brittany's beach house. Turning her head upwards Brittany smiled which in turn made Santana do the same. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ask and maybe I'll answer."

Brittany bite her lower lip in nervousness. "Are we," she paused and took a breath, "are we seeing each other, exclusively?"

Santana giggled, she loved when she could hear Brittany's southern accent a little more clearly and when the girl got nervous. "I don't know about you but I'm certainly not seeing anyone else and I don't want to see anyone else."

"I'll take that as a yes we're exclusive then." Brittany leaned up and placed a soft kiss on Santana's lips before laying her head back down. "You want to have a fire tonight? We haven't had one in a really, really long time."

"How about you make the fire and I'll make us dinner?"

Later that night after they finished dinner Santana stood by the back window, a glass of wine in hand as she watched Brittany start to make a fire. She was brought back to the first time she had ever seen the girl and how beautiful she thought she was in that moment. She was so deep in thought that she hadn't realised Brittany had come back inside.

"Hey, you in there?"

Finally Santana snapped out of her daze and smiled. "Yeah I was just thinking."

"About?" Brittany smiled as she took a sip of her girlfriends wine.

"Remembering the first time I saw you, at your beach party when Sam brought Quinn and I over. I was standing right about here and you were standing by the fire talking to a few people and you were so beautiful that I couldn't help but stare. Then Sam brought us outside to meet you and you said we were neighbours. Instantly Quinn realised that I was checking you and you made me so tongue tied, I never expected you."

Closing her eyes for a second Brittany smiled remembering the events of that night and how they played out. "Let's go sit by the fire." Brittany took Santana's hand and let her outside where they sat down on a blanket next to the fire.

Santana curled up into Brittany's arm, leaning her head back on Brittany's shoulder. "Every time I see you I see you standing by the fire and I remember exactly how it felt, like everything was still and all I could see was you. Love scares me, it always has, I look at my parents and I see how much they love each other but I'm a realist and I know that a love like their's doesn't come around very often. My parents got married when they were relatively young, my dad is kinda careless, he does everything on impulse and I guess I inherited some of that its makes me a little irrational sometimes but I just think he got so lucky. I wish I could be like my parents, jump into things and not look back but that's not me and so love scares me because I'm always scared it's not going to last."

"It's okay to be scared, love is scary but I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere. We've had some bad fights and we've spent far too much time apart and we still managed to end up right back here where it all started. Our parents and us are all examples of the fact that love does last, it's not always easy but when love is real it can't be broken."

Two weeks later they found themselves by the water as the sun was starting to descend for the day. Brittany had her arms around Santana's waist and Santana had her arms back around Brittany's neck. "Let's move in together."

Santana turned around in her girlfriends arms. "Come again?"

"You heard me, I said let's move in together. No more of this me having a drawer of stuff at your place and you having a drawer of stuff at my place. Let's find a house and move in together."

"What about work and bills and all the other responsibilities being an adult has."

Brittany smiled a toothy grin. "We'll figure it out together, you can write from anywhere, and for now I'll keep working at the studio, we have each other and that's what matters."

A week later both girls were back at their respective parents homes as the weather was starting to change and becoming to cold to spend every day at the beach house. Brittany walked into the Lopez's home and went straight for the kitchen where she found Santana's mother. "Hi honey, how are you?"

Brittany smiled as she wrapped her arms around the woman giving her a good hug. "I'm good, dinner smells wonderful."

"I am so glad you learned to not ring the doorbell, otherwise my croissants might have burned." Brittany laughed at the woman's joke and how it had taken Brittany a long time to feel comfortable enough to simply walk into the Lopez home.

"I'm learning, but I'm glad they didn't burn." Brittany winked.

"I think Santana is down in the basement but I can't hear over her fathers television." The woman spoke a little louder so that her husband could hear.

"Oh I didn't know she was home, I thought she was busy with an assignment this weekend, I came by on behalf of my mother to invite you for brunch tomorrow, she's out on the boat with dad so her phone is turned off, she forgot to ask you last night."

"Tell her I would love too, feel free to go spy on my daughter, who knows what's she working on down there."

Brittany smiled and headed down towards Santana's 'office'. Sure enough as she got closer she heard Santana singing softly. Peeking into the room she saw Santana sitting at the piano with a pad of paper on top of it as she played a few notes. She hummed to herself and Brittany realised that Santana was trying to write lyrics. Smiling she backed away from the door and back upstairs, she said goodbye to the older Lopez woman and headed home. The soft melody of whatever Santana was writing played over in her head. _Catchy. _She thought to herself as she walked into her house and out the back door to lay on her hammock for awhile.

**Four Months Later **

Both girls laughed as they carried boxes from Santana's car to the house. Brittany was almost falling over with the three boxes in her arms. Santana had two small boxes in her hands as she struggled to open the door. Once it was open she set the boxes down and took the top box that Brittany had been carrying. "You do have a head." She smiled as she leaned over and kissed her girlfriend.

They had found an average size house with decent rent that had an amazing view of the marina. It was perfect for them, it had a big yard and was close to their parents without being too close. Most importantly, it was theirs.

"This place is such a mess." Santana said as she started to the boxes that were laid out in what would be their living room.

"It's called moving, it doesn't have to be perfect right now." Brittany smiled as she grabbed Santana's hand and pulled her up. She wrapped one arm around her waist, still holding Santana's hand. She started to sway from side to side and spun the shorter girl around.

"What are you doing." She laughed as she wrapped her arm around Brittany's neck.

"It's called dancing and I happen to be very good at it." The blonde smiled. "But I'm better at this." She leaned her forehead against Santana's, theirs noses brushed as she leaned her head down just a little so that she could place a soft kiss on the girls lips.

"Let's face it you might be the better dancer but I'm definitely the better kisser." Brittany shook her head and started to tickle the girl.

Later that night Brittany looked over at the girl in her arms and smiled, they had made finally made it to exact place Brittany had pictured the first night they had met. All the ups and downs didn't matter because they were together.

_Brittany had been in California for a couple days and things with Santana had been good. Sam and Quinn had decided to go on a picnic somewhere while the two girls had decided to spend the day at the beach surfing. Later that afternoon after dinner they found themselves walking the beach once again, hand in hand. _

_They sat down on the sand and talked awhile, nothing to in depth. From prom to college and a few things in between like what they had been doing in their time apart. It was then that Brittany leapt up to her feet and started dancing around causing Santana to get up and chase after her. The blonde started to kick water at Santana, making the girl scream slightly before splashing some water back at her. _

**One Year Later **

Brittany and Santana had had their home for a little over a year. They had their fights and their moments where Santana would get so mad she would leave and every time that happened the same thing followed. Brittany chased after her.

"Why are we at the beach house?"

"Felt like doing something different today."

Santana laughed. "You realise we leave ten minutes from a marina and a beach right?"

The blonde nodded as she parked her truck. "Shat up." She shook her head with a laugh as she watched Santana get out of the vehicle.

They walked down to the dock where the Pierce's canoe sat resting on the calm water. Brittany had taken Santana out on it once to go fishing but for whatever reason it was never something they had made a habit of.

Brittany held out her hand to help Santana in. "We're going out in that?" Brittany nodded and smiled so Santana went along with it, not wanting to argue and seeing no need to. It was quiet as Brittany rowed and rowed until they were out in the middle of the lake. Finally she stopped rowing and pointed off in the distance.

"Look at the lights on the water, its so pretty. When I was little I always used to beg dad to row out here so I could see it." Santana turned around and looked at the lights and all she could think about how right Brittany was because the sight was beautiful. The way the light glistened on the water and how perfect everything seemed to be, like there was nothing wrong in the world. When she turned back her hand instantly covered her agape mouth. In front of her sat something far more beautiful than any vision of scenery. In front of her was everything she had ever hoped for and then some. There it was in a small black case, open for her too see, a simple but gorgeous diamond ring with diamond shavings on either side. "I remember how we felt sitting by the water and every time I look at you it's like the first. I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter and you are the best thing that has ever been mine. Will you marry me?"

Santana could see that Brittany's had was visibly shaking as she nodded her head and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the blonde. "Yes!"

Later that night Brittany found her now fiancé sitting on their porch. A guitar in her lap, and notebook right next to her. She quietly sat down next to the girl, placing the cup of tea she made her on the table next to her notebook. The pen she was using to write was in her mouth as she played a few chords. The same few chords she remembered hearing awhile ago, she had always wondered what Santana had ever done with them.

"Can you do me a favour?" Santana asked after she took the pen out of her mouth and set it down.

"Of course, what's up."

"Do you think you could play this for me?" She once again played the chords. Brittany nodded so Santana handed her the guitar and picked up her notebook. "Just keep playing that." Brittany kept playing as she watched Santana scribble notes down in her book, the ring she had given her a little while earlier securely on her ring finger.

Fifteen minutes later Santana leaned over and grabbed her cup of tea. She held it between her hands and she leaned into Brittany's chest as they sat on the porch swing. "Do I get to hear it at least?"

Santana shook her head no. "Maybe someday."

**One Year Later **

They went on a drive, they weren't going anywhere in particular they were just driving and enjoying each others company. The radio was playing as Brittany's blonde hair blew in the wind as Santana drove her mustang down the gravel road. Brittany's held was tilted back on the chair, her eyes closed, she had one hand held outside of the car feeling the breeze as they drove.

"Up next, Taylor Swift's new single, Mine. It's a good one, stay tuned." Brittany sat up an turned up the radio in anticipation. "I can't wait to hear this song, I love her."

Santana laughed, knowing how much Brittany loved Taylor. A moment later Brittany opened her eyes once again as she heard the familiar chords. She stared at the radio as if it was going to explain something to her. She turned to Santana wondering if she had put a cd in before she looked back at the radio and saw that there was no cd. What she was hearing really was being played over the radio. She listened to the lyrics as her second favourite singer sang. "Do you remember we were sitting there by the water, you saw me start to believe for the first time." Brittany's mouth hung open as she kept looking back and forth from the radio to Santana who kept driving with a big toothy grin.

"You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter, you are the best thing that's ever been mine. Do you believe, we're gonna make it now, and I can see it. I can see it now." Santana finished singing as she pulled the car over.

"That's your… but how did…" Brittany trailed off as Santana continued to smile. Without thinking anymore she hoped out of the car, opened the drivers side door and picked up her fiancé, spinning her around.

"You inspire me, and I meant every word in that song. I wasn't trying to sell it to anyone I just put it out there and she loved it."

Brittany finally put Santana down. "Your song was just on the radio. The RADIO!" Santana laughed as she wrapped her arms back around Brittany's neck.

"I know!"

"Taylor swift is singing your song."

Rolling her eyes with a smile still on her face Santana nodded. "I know." They stayed like that for another minute before getting back in the car. As they continued to drive Santana filled Brittany in on how everything happened. How she had been having a hard time getting it just right and then Brittany proposed and said all the right things and it just clicked.

"I fell in love with you under a southern sky and I wouldn't change any of it because you really are the best thing to ever be mine."

**Six Months Later **

_Brittany S. Pierce - Lopez _

"_Relationship status went from engaged to married." _

_**A few seconds ago. **_

**The End **

A/N: First and foremost thank you all for the reviews, and favourites I have never received so much positive feedback before. I know some of you didn't want this to end and I thought about changing my plan around to make that happen but I always saw the story ending here so I hope you all liked it anyways.


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